Match each IAM role type to its description.
Drag a concept onto its matching description — or click a concept then click the description.
Legacy roles like Owner, Editor, Viewer
Fine-grained roles managed by Google
User-defined roles with specific permissions
Another name for Basic roles
Identity for applications, not users
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Basic roles: Broad roles that apply to all resources in a project (Owner, Editor, Viewer)
In GCP, IAM roles are categorized into basic (broad), predefined (service-specific), and custom (user-defined). Common confusions arise between predefined and custom roles.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Basic roles: Broad roles that apply to all resources in a project (Owner, Editor, Viewer)
Why this is correct
Basic roles are legacy roles that grant broad access to all resources in a project.
Predefined roles: Roles curated by Google Cloud that provide fine-grained access for specific services
Why this is correct
Predefined roles are managed by Google and offer specific permissions for services like Compute Engine or Cloud Storage.
Custom roles: Roles that you create to tailor permissions to your organization's specific needs
Why this is correct
Custom roles allow you to define a set of permissions that are not covered by predefined roles.
Basic roles: Roles curated by Google Cloud that provide fine-grained access for specific services
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect — this describes predefined roles, not basic roles.
Predefined roles: Roles that you create to tailor permissions to your organization's specific needs
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect — this describes custom roles, not predefined roles.
Go deeper
Learn chapter
IAM Policies, Service Accounts, and Auditing
Key term
IAM role
An IAM role is a set of permissions that an entity can assume temporarily to access cloud resources securely.
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
About these practice questions
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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.