The answer is using Google-managed SSL certificates for HTTPS ingress, along with setting resource requests and limits for CPU and memory, and implementing health checks and readiness probes. These three practices are essential for building robust applications on GKE because they directly address reliability, scalability, and security. Resource requests and limits allow Kubernetes to make informed scheduling decisions, preventing resource starvation and enabling the cluster autoscaler to optimize node utilization, while Google-managed SSL certificates automate TLS termination for secure ingress traffic. On the Google Professional Cloud Developer exam, this question tests your understanding of operational excellence in GKE—a common trap is confusing resource limits with requests, or overlooking health probes as a deployment best practice. Remember the mnemonic “SSL, Limits, Probes” to recall the three pillars: secure ingress, resource governance, and application health monitoring.
PCD Building and testing applications Practice Question
This PCD practice question tests your understanding of building and testing applications. 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.
Which THREE are best practices for building applications on GKE? (Choose three.)
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Set resource requests and limits for CPU and memory
Setting resource requests and limits for CPU and memory is a best practice because it allows Kubernetes to make informed scheduling decisions and ensures that pods do not exceed their allocated resources, preventing resource starvation for other workloads. Requests guarantee a minimum amount of resources for the pod, while limits cap the maximum, enabling the cluster autoscaler and scheduler to optimize node utilization and maintain stability.
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.
✓
Set resource requests and limits for CPU and memory
Why this is correct
Prevents resource starvation and ensures fair scheduling.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use nodeSelector to pin pods to specific node instances for performance consistency
Why it's wrong here
nodeSelector reduces scheduling flexibility; prefer node affinity or taints/tolerations.
✓
Define readiness and liveness probes for your containers
Why this is correct
Ensures traffic is sent only to healthy pods.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use StatefulSets for all applications to preserve state across restarts
Why it's wrong here
StatefulSets are for stateful apps; stateless apps should use Deployments.
✓
Use Google-managed SSL certificates for HTTPS ingress
Why this is correct
Simplifies certificate management.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" 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
Cisco often tests the misconception that nodeSelector is a best practice for performance consistency, when in fact it reduces scheduling flexibility and is discouraged in favor of node affinity or taints/tolerations for more granular control.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Resource requests and limits are enforced by the kubelet using cgroups v2, where CPU limits are implemented via CFS quota (Completely Fair Scheduler) and memory limits via the memory cgroup controller. Overcommitting resources without limits can cause OOM kills or CPU throttling, while setting requests too high can waste capacity; the Kubernetes scheduler uses requests to calculate node fit, and the vertical pod autoscaler can adjust these values dynamically based on historical usage.
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
An e-commerce site experiences heavy traffic on Black Friday and near-zero traffic during off-peak weeks. Rather than provisioning permanent large VMs, the team uses auto-scaling groups that add capacity automatically under load and reduce it overnight. Questions like this test whether you understand elasticity, availability zones, and cloud compute scaling patterns.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Building and testing applications — This question tests Building and testing applications — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Set resource requests and limits for CPU and memory — Setting resource requests and limits for CPU and memory is a best practice because it allows Kubernetes to make informed scheduling decisions and ensures that pods do not exceed their allocated resources, preventing resource starvation for other workloads. Requests guarantee a minimum amount of resources for the pod, while limits cap the maximum, enabling the cluster autoscaler and scheduler to optimize node utilization and maintain stability.
What should I do if I get this PCD question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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This PCD 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 PCD exam.
Question Discussion
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