PK0-005 Project Management Concepts Practice Question
A project has a budget of $100,000 and a duration of 12 months. After 6 months, the project is 50% complete and has spent $60,000. What is the cost variance?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is confusing CV with 'budget remaining' or forgetting the sign convention — candidates often compute budget minus AC and get −$40,000, or drop the negative and pick $10,000, when the correct formula is EV − AC.
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
✓
-$10,000
Cost variance (CV) = Earned Value (EV) − Actual Cost (AC). At 6 months with a $100,000 budget and 50% completion, EV = 0.50 × $100,000 = $50,000. AC = $60,000. CV = $50,000 − $60,000 = −$10,000, indicating the project is $10,000 over budget.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
-$10,000
Why this is correct
Cost variance is earned value minus actual cost. At 50% completion, earned value is $50,000, while actual cost is $60,000, giving $50,000 − $60,000 = −$10,000. The negative result confirms the project is over budget at the six-month mark.
- ✗
-$40,000
Why it's wrong here
Cost variance is EV minus AC: $50,000 earned value minus $60,000 actual cost equals -$10,000, not -$40,000. Subtracting actual cost from total budget ignores earned value; that figure answers a different question about remaining budget, not variance.
- ✗
$10,000
Why it's wrong here
Cost variance is EV minus AC: $50,000 minus $60,000 equals -$10,000, so a positive $10,000 is wrong. It tempts as the absolute overspend, but variance is signed; the positive value would be correct only if actual cost were below earned value.
- ✗
$40,000
Why it's wrong here
Cost variance is EV minus AC: $50,000 minus $60,000 equals -$10,000, not $40,000. That figure is the remaining budget ($100,000 minus $60,000), which tempts because it uses the same inputs, but it measures funds left, not schedule-adjusted variance.
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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
This PK0-005 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 PK0-005 exam.