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Setting up a cloud solution environment →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Google ACE Setting up a cloud solution environment Practice Question

This ACE practice question tests your understanding of setting up a cloud solution environment. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 DevOps engineer created a Compute Engine instance with a startup script that installs Apache and configures a website. The startup script runs a command that requires a service account with roles/storage.objectViewer to download assets from Cloud Storage. The instance is created with the default compute service account. The startup script fails. Upon inspection, the engineer finds that the service account cannot download the assets. What is the most likely cause?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.

Question 1hardmultiple choice

Full question →

A
The OAuth scopes on the instance do not include https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only.
Why wrong: The compute service account has full access by default; OAuth scopes are not the issue.
B
A firewall rule is blocking the startup script from reaching the Cloud Storage API.
Why wrong: The startup script makes API calls over HTTPS, which is allowed by default through the firewall.
C
The startup script is not running as the service account.
Why wrong: Startup scripts run with the instance's service account by default.
D
The service account lacks the IAM role roles/storage.objectViewer on the bucket.
The default compute engine service account has project editor role, but that may not include specific bucket permissions if bucket-level IAM is used. Explicitly granting the objectViewer role is required.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

The service account lacks the IAM role roles/storage.objectViewer on the bucket.

Option D is correct because the default compute service account does not have storage.objectViewer by default; it must be granted. Option A is wrong because firewall rules don't affect API calls. Option B is wrong because the default compute service account typically has project editor, which includes storage.admin, so it's not a scope issue. Option C is wrong because OAuth scopes only affect user credentials, not service accounts.

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.

✗
The OAuth scopes on the instance do not include https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only.
Why it's wrong here
The compute service account has full access by default; OAuth scopes are not the issue.
✗
A firewall rule is blocking the startup script from reaching the Cloud Storage API.
Why it's wrong here
The startup script makes API calls over HTTPS, which is allowed by default through the firewall.
✗
The startup script is not running as the service account.
Why it's wrong here
Startup scripts run with the instance's service account by default.
✓
The service account lacks the IAM role roles/storage.objectViewer on the bucket.
Why this is correct
The default compute engine service account has project editor role, but that may not include specific bucket permissions if bucket-level IAM is used. Explicitly granting the objectViewer role is required.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which ACE 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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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this ACE question test?

Setting up a cloud solution environment — This question tests Setting up a cloud solution environment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: The service account lacks the IAM role roles/storage.objectViewer on the bucket. — Option D is correct because the default compute service account does not have storage.objectViewer by default; it must be granted. Option A is wrong because firewall rules don't affect API calls. Option B is wrong because the default compute service account typically has project editor, which includes storage.admin, so it's not a scope issue. Option C is wrong because OAuth scopes only affect user credentials, not service accounts.

What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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This ACE 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 ACE exam.