PK0-005 Project Life Cycle Practice Question
During project planning, the project manager creates a network diagram. Activity A has a duration of 5 days, Activity B has a duration of 3 days, and Activity C has a duration of 4 days. Activities A and B can start immediately. Activity C can start only after Activity A is complete. Activity B has no dependency on others. What is the duration of the critical path?
⚠ Common exam trap
PK0-005 often tests critical path by including a shorter parallel branch — candidates mistakenly add all activity durations or pick the sum of the two starting activities instead of tracing the longest dependent path.
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
✓
9 days
The critical path is the longest sequence of dependent activities. Path A→C takes 5 + 4 = 9 days, while path B takes 3 days. Since A and B run in parallel and C depends on A, the project duration is determined by the longer path, A→C, which equals 9 days.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
7 days
Why it's wrong here
Seven days omits Activity C's four-day duration entirely; the critical path runs A then C, totalling nine days. Summing only A and B reflects a misreading of the dependency, since B is independent and does not gate C. Seven days would be correct only if C did not exist.
- ✗
8 days
Why it's wrong here
Eight days matches neither path: A+C equals nine, while B alone equals three. The figure likely comes from adding B to A and then subtracting C, or from misreading C's dependency. Eight days would be correct only if the durations or dependencies in the stem differed.
- ✓
9 days
Why this is correct
Two paths exist: A then C totals 5+4=9 days, while B alone totals 3 days. The critical path is the longest, so 9 days governs the project duration. This satisfies the stem's requirement to identify the critical path duration from the given dependencies.
- ✗
12 days
Why it's wrong here
The critical path runs A then C, giving 5 + 4 = 9 days; B's 3 days runs in parallel and finishes earlier, so it never governs project duration. Summing all three activities to 12 days is tempting because it treats every activity as sequential, ignoring the stated dependencies.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every PK0-005 question from scratch — 954 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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
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.