Google ACE Practice Question: Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution. 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.
Exhibit
resource "google_project_iam_member" "project" {
project = "my-project"
role = "roles/editor"
members = ["user:john@example.com"]
}
Refer to the exhibit. The Terraform plan above returns the error: Error: "member" is required. What is the issue?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The member argument should be 'member' (singular) not 'members'.
The Terraform error 'Error: "member" is required' indicates that the resource block is using the plural argument 'members' instead of the singular 'member'. In the Google Cloud Terraform provider, the google_project_iam_member resource expects a single 'member' argument (e.g., 'user:email@example.com'), not a list. The correct syntax is 'member = "user:email@example.com"', not 'members = ["user:email@example.com"]'. This is a common syntax error when transitioning from other IAM resources that accept lists.
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The Terraform provider version is outdated.
Why it's wrong here
Outdated provider might not support this resource but would give a different error.
✗
The project ID is incorrect.
Why it's wrong here
Project ID would cause a different error.
✗
The member argument must be a service account, not a user.
Why it's wrong here
Users are valid members for IAM.
✓
The member argument should be 'member' (singular) not 'members'.
Why this is correct
For google_project_iam_member, use 'member' attribute.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the subtle difference between singular and plural argument names in Terraform resources (e.g., 'member' vs 'members'), tricking candidates who assume both forms are interchangeable or who confuse IAM member with IAM binding syntax.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Terraform Google provider distinguishes between google_project_iam_member (singular, for a single member) and google_project_iam_binding (for authoritative binding with a list of members). The 'member' argument in google_project_iam_member expects a single string in the format 'user:{email}', 'serviceAccount:{email}', 'group:{email}', or 'domain:{domain}'. Using 'members' (plural) causes Terraform to look for a required 'member' argument that is missing, triggering the error. This is a common pitfall when copying code from google_project_iam_binding, which uses 'members' (plural).
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this ACE question in full detail.
Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution — This question tests Ensuring successful operation of a cloud solution — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The member argument should be 'member' (singular) not 'members'. — The Terraform error 'Error: "member" is required' indicates that the resource block is using the plural argument 'members' instead of the singular 'member'. In the Google Cloud Terraform provider, the google_project_iam_member resource expects a single 'member' argument (e.g., 'user:email@example.com'), not a list. The correct syntax is 'member = "user:email@example.com"', not 'members = ["user:email@example.com"]'. This is a common syntax error when transitioning from other IAM resources that accept lists.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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