Google PCA Practice Question: Analysing and Optimising Technical and Business Processes
A company uses BigQuery for large-scale analytics. They have a fixed monthly budget and want to ensure predictable costs for query processing, even when many users run concurrent queries. Which BigQuery pricing model should they use?
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
✓
Flat-rate pricing with slot reservations
BigQuery slot reservations (fixed capacity) provide predictable pricing by purchasing a set number of slots. On-demand pricing charges per byte scanned, which can vary with usage. Flat-rate pricing via reservations is best for predictable costs. Committed use discounts apply to slot reservations, but the core model is reservations.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
On-demand pricing with flat-rate discounts
Why it's wrong here
There is no 'flat-rate discount' on on-demand; on-demand is per-byte.
- ✗
Autoscaling slot reservations
Why it's wrong here
Autoscaling slots adjust capacity based on demand, which can lead to variable costs, though within limits. For predictable costs, fixed reservations are better.
- ✓
Flat-rate pricing with slot reservations
Why this is correct
Slot reservations provide a fixed cost for a certain number of slots, making expenses predictable. Queries run within the reserved slots.
- ✗
On-demand pricing with committed use discounts
Why it's wrong here
On-demand pricing is variable and unpredictable. Committed use discounts reduce cost but do not cap usage.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Security Best Practices and Compliance
Key term
CAN
A CAN (Controller Area Network) is a robust vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other without a host computer.
Key term
BigQuery
BigQuery is a fully managed, serverless data warehouse on Google Cloud that lets you run fast SQL queries on massive datasets without managing any infrastructure.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCA practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud 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 PCA exam.