Quick Answer
The correct crontab entry is 0 3 * * 1 /path/to/script. This is correct because the standard crontab syntax uses five time-and-date fields—minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week—where the asterisks act as wildcards meaning “every.” Setting minute to 0 and hour to 3 locks the time to 3:00 AM, while the day-of-week field set to 1 (Monday) ensures it runs only on that day, leaving the day-of-month and month fields as wildcards so it triggers every Monday regardless of the date. On the CompTIA Linux+ XK0-005 exam, this question tests your ability to translate a plain-English weekly schedule into precise crontab syntax, a common task for system administrators. A frequent trap is confusing Sunday as day 0 or 7—remember that in cron, Monday is always 1, and both 0 and 7 represent Sunday. For a quick memory tip, think of the five fields as “Minute Hour Day Month Weekday,” and when you need a weekly schedule, keep the day-of-month and month as asterisks while specifying only the weekday.
This XK0-005 practice question tests your understanding of system management. 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.
An administrator wants to schedule a script to run every Monday at 3 AM. Which crontab entry is correct?
0 3 * * 1 /path/to/script
Runs at 3:00 AM every Monday.
* 3 * * 1 /path/to/script
Why wrong: Runs every minute from 3:00 to 3:59 on Monday.
0 3 * * * /path/to/script
Why wrong: Runs daily at 3 AM, not just Monday.
0 3 1 * * /path/to/script
Why wrong: Runs on the 1st of every month at 3 AM.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
0 3 * * 1 /path/to/script
Option A is correct because the crontab syntax requires five fields: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week. '0 3 * * 1' means minute 0, hour 3 (3 AM), any day of month (*), any month (*), and day of week 1 (Monday). This precisely schedules the script to run at 3:00 AM every Monday.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
0 3 * * 1 /path/to/script
Why this is correct
Runs at 3:00 AM every Monday.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
* 3 * * 1 /path/to/script
Why it's wrong here
Runs every minute from 3:00 to 3:59 on Monday.
0 3 * * * /path/to/script
Why it's wrong here
Runs daily at 3 AM, not just Monday.
0 3 1 * * /path/to/script
Why it's wrong here
Runs on the 1st of every month at 3 AM.
Common exam traps
CompTIA often tests the distinction between the minute field and the day-of-week field, trapping candidates who confuse the first field (minute) with the hour field, or who misinterpret the day-of-week field as the day-of-month field.
Detailed technical explanation
The crontab format is defined by POSIX and consists of minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), and day of week (0-7, where 0 and 7 represent Sunday). When both day-of-month and day-of-week are specified (not '*'), the job runs when either condition is true, which can cause unexpected behavior. A common real-world scenario is a backup script that must run weekly; using '0 3 * * 1' ensures it runs only on Mondays at 3 AM, avoiding daily or monthly misinterpretations.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
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FAQ
System Management — This question tests System Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: 0 3 * * 1 /path/to/script — Option A is correct because the crontab syntax requires five fields: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week. '0 3 * * 1' means minute 0, hour 3 (3 AM), any day of month (*), any month (*), and day of week 1 (Monday). This precisely schedules the script to run at 3:00 AM every Monday.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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.
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