XK0-006 System Management Practice Question
An administrator wants to find all files larger than 100MB in the /var directory. Which command should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
XK0-006 often tests whether candidates confuse size units (kb vs M vs G) and forget that find requires -type f to exclude directories, leading them to pick options that match the wrong unit or miss subdirectories.
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
✓
find /var -type f -size +100M
The find command with -size +100M searches for files larger than 100 megabytes, and -type f restricts results to regular files. Running 'find /var -type f -size +100M' correctly locates all regular files under /var exceeding 100MB. This is the standard, precise way to search by size in Linux.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
find /var -size +100kb
Why it's wrong here
The -size +100kb predicate compares against kilobytes, so it returns files over 100KB, not 100MB. It is tempting because find with -size is the correct mechanism, and this syntax would be right if the requirement were files larger than 100KB rather than 100MB.
- ✓
find /var -type f -size +100M
Why this is correct
The -size +100M predicate matches regular files exceeding 100 mebibytes, and -type f restricts results to files rather than directories. This satisfies the stem's requirement to locate files larger than 100MB within /var using a single find invocation.
- ✗
ls -l /var | grep 100M
Why it's wrong here
ls lists directory entries with human-readable sizes; piping to grep 100M matches filenames or size strings, not a numeric threshold, so it cannot identify files exceeding 100MB. It is tempting as a quick visual scan, and ls with grep suits locating files by name pattern rather than by size comparison.
- ✗
du -sh /var/* | grep M
Why it's wrong here
du reports directory-level disk usage, and grep M matches any megabyte figure without comparing against 100MB, so it cannot isolate files larger than that threshold. It is tempting for spotting space hogs, and du is the right tool for summarising directory consumption rather than filtering individual files by size.
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JA
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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