- A
Create flex slots in the secondary project, create a reservation in the secondary project, and assign the reservation to the primary project.
Correct. Flex slots are designed for temporary capacity. Creating them in a secondary project and assigning the reservation to the primary project provides burst capacity without committing to additional long-term slots.
- B
Enable autoscaling slot management in the primary project's reservation, allowing slots to scale up based on demand.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Autoscaling can be used with committed use reservations to scale slots up to a maximum, but it still requires base committed slots. It does not provide purely temporary capacity without commitment, unlike flex slots.
- C
Upgrade the primary project's edition to Enterprise Plus to allow bursting.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Upgrading to Enterprise Plus changes pricing and features but does not directly provide burst capacity without additional spend.
- D
Purchase additional committed use slots in the primary project and apply them to the reservation.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Purchasing additional committed use slots increases committed spend, which is what the company wants to avoid.
PDE Maintaining and Automating Data Workloads Practice Question
This PDE practice question tests your understanding of maintaining and automating data workloads. 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.
A company uses BigQuery flat-rate pricing with 500 slots purchased as a committed use discount. During peak hours, they need additional capacity but do not want to buy more committed slots. They have a secondary project used for ad-hoc queries by analysts. How can they provide burst capacity to the primary project during peak times without increasing committed spend?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"primary"Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
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
Create flex slots in the secondary project, create a reservation in the secondary project, and assign the reservation to the primary project.
Flex slots provide temporary capacity without long-term commitment. By creating flex slots in a secondary project and assigning the reservation to the primary project, burst capacity is added during peak times without increasing committed spend. Option B is incorrect because autoscaling can be used with committed use reservations, but it does not provide capacity beyond the purchased slots without incurring additional costs; autoscaling on committed use still uses flex pricing. Option C is incorrect because upgrading to Enterprise Plus does not inherently provide burst capacity without additional slots. Option D is incorrect because purchasing additional committed use slots increases committed spend.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Create flex slots in the secondary project, create a reservation in the secondary project, and assign the reservation to the primary project.
Why this is correct
Correct. Flex slots are designed for temporary capacity. Creating them in a secondary project and assigning the reservation to the primary project provides burst capacity without committing to additional long-term slots.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable autoscaling slot management in the primary project's reservation, allowing slots to scale up based on demand.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Autoscaling can be used with committed use reservations to scale slots up to a maximum, but it still requires base committed slots. It does not provide purely temporary capacity without commitment, unlike flex slots.
- ✗
Upgrade the primary project's edition to Enterprise Plus to allow bursting.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Upgrading to Enterprise Plus changes pricing and features but does not directly provide burst capacity without additional spend.
- ✗
Purchase additional committed use slots in the primary project and apply them to the reservation.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Purchasing additional committed use slots increases committed spend, which is what the company wants to avoid.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which PDE exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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Maintaining and Automating Data Workloads — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PDE question test?
Maintaining and Automating Data Workloads — This question tests Maintaining and Automating Data Workloads — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create flex slots in the secondary project, create a reservation in the secondary project, and assign the reservation to the primary project. — Flex slots provide temporary capacity without long-term commitment. By creating flex slots in a secondary project and assigning the reservation to the primary project, burst capacity is added during peak times without increasing committed spend. Option B is incorrect because autoscaling can be used with committed use reservations, but it does not provide capacity beyond the purchased slots without incurring additional costs; autoscaling on committed use still uses flex pricing. Option C is incorrect because upgrading to Enterprise Plus does not inherently provide burst capacity without additional slots. Option D is incorrect because purchasing additional committed use slots increases committed spend.
What should I do if I get this PDE question wrong?
Identify which PDE exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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