FC0-U71 Data and Database Fundamentals Practice Question
Which SQL statement is used to retrieve all columns from a table named 'Employees'?
⚠ Common exam trap
FC0-U71 often tests basic SQL syntax, and candidates may be tricked by plausible-sounding but non-existent commands like RETRIEVE or GET, or confuse SHOW (metadata) with SELECT (data retrieval).
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
SELECT * FROM Employees
SELECT * FROM Employees is the correct SQL statement to retrieve all columns from the Employees table. SELECT * specifies all columns, and FROM identifies the table. No WHERE clause is needed because the question asks for all rows.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
SELECT * FROM Employees
Why this is correct
The asterisk wildcard in the SELECT clause returns every column defined in the Employees table, while FROM names the source table. This is the standard SQL shorthand for retrieving all columns without listing each one explicitly.
- ✗
RETRIEVE Employees
Why it's wrong here
RETRIEVE is not a SQL keyword, so no database engine will parse it. It tempts candidates who associate "retrieve" with querying data, but the actual statement for returning rows is SELECT. RETRIEVE belongs to other contexts entirely, such as ABAP Open SQL, and would be correct only when querying a SAP system rather than a standard relational database.
- ✗
SHOW * FROM Employees
Why it's wrong here
SHOW returns server metadata such as table structure or variable values, not row data, so it cannot retrieve column contents from Employees. It tempts because MySQL's SHOW COLUMNS does describe a table's fields, which suits schema inspection rather than the row retrieval this question requires.
- ✗
GET * FROM Employees
Why it's wrong here
GET is not a SQL statement; it belongs to HTTP and PowerShell, so no database engine would parse it. It may tempt candidates who conflate data-retrieval terminology across technologies, since GET does fetch resources in REST APIs. The required statement is SELECT * FROM Employees, which returns every column from that table.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
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