Question 95 of 1,000

Troubleshooting →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

XK0-005 Troubleshooting Practice Question

This XK0-005 practice question tests your understanding of troubleshooting. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.

A technician needs to check the current memory usage on a Linux system, including buffers and cache. Which command provides the most user-friendly output?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.

A
free -h
free -h shows memory usage with buffers/cache in human-readable form.
B
cat /proc/meminfo
Why wrong: cat /proc/meminfo shows raw data, not as friendly.
C
iostat -m
Why wrong: iostat shows disk I/O, not memory.
D
vmstat -s
Why wrong: vmstat -s shows memory statistics but not as human-readable.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

free -h

The `free -h` command displays memory usage in a human-readable format (e.g., KiB, MiB, GiB) and explicitly breaks down total, used, free, shared, buffers/cache, and available memory. This makes it the most user-friendly option for quickly assessing current memory usage including buffers and cache.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✓
free -h
Why this is correct
free -h shows memory usage with buffers/cache in human-readable form.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
cat /proc/meminfo
Why it's wrong here
cat /proc/meminfo shows raw data, not as friendly.
✗
iostat -m
Why it's wrong here
iostat shows disk I/O, not memory.
✗
vmstat -s
Why it's wrong here
vmstat -s shows memory statistics but not as human-readable.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may choose `cat /proc/meminfo` because it contains all the raw data, but the question specifically asks for the 'most user-friendly' output, which `free -h` provides with its human-readable scaling and clear summary columns.

Trap categories for this question

Command / output trap
cat /proc/meminfo shows raw data, not as friendly.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Under the hood, `free` reads from `/proc/meminfo` and calculates the 'available' memory by considering reclaimable slab, page cache, and buffer cache, which is a more accurate indicator of usable memory than just 'free'. In real-world scenarios, a system may show low 'free' memory but high 'buffers/cache', and `free -h` helps administrators quickly see that the kernel is using memory for caching, not that the system is out of memory.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.

TExam Day Tips

Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A practitioner preparing for the XK0-005 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this XK0-005 question test?

Troubleshooting — This question tests Troubleshooting — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: free -h — The `free -h` command displays memory usage in a human-readable format (e.g., KiB, MiB, GiB) and explicitly breaks down total, used, free, shared, buffers/cache, and available memory. This makes it the most user-friendly option for quickly assessing current memory usage including buffers and cache.

What should I do if I get this XK0-005 question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "which command". Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026

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This XK0-005 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the XK0-005 exam.