PCD Building and testing applications Practice Question
This PCD practice question tests your understanding of building and testing applications. 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.
Refer to the exhibit. A developer deployed a Cloud Run service with the above command. They notice that the service's latency is higher than expected under load. The service performs CPU-intensive tasks. What is the most likely reason for the high latency?
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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The execution environment is gen2, which only allocates CPU during request processing by default; the high concurrency causes CPU contention
Cloud Run (gen2) allocates CPU based on request processing. With concurrency 80, and CPU-intensive tasks, the CPU may be throttled between requests. Option A is correct: gen2 only allocates CPU during request processing if not using CPU always on. Option B is incorrect because gen2 supports CPU-intensive tasks. Option C is incorrect because 4Gi memory should be sufficient. Option D is incorrect because scaling to 10 instances could help but doesn't address concurrency issue.
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 service is using gen2, which does not support CPU-intensive workloads
Why it's wrong here
It does support; but CPU allocation is per request.
✗
The service should be deployed with --max-instances set to a lower number
Why it's wrong here
Lower max-instances would reduce concurrency per instance, but the issue is CPU allocation.
✓
The execution environment is gen2, which only allocates CPU during request processing by default; the high concurrency causes CPU contention
Why this is correct
Gen2 CPU is only allocated during request processing unless CPU always on is set.
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.
✗
The memory is insufficient for the concurrency level
Why it's wrong here
Memory may be sufficient; latency is CPU-related.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which PCD 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.
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: The execution environment is gen2, which only allocates CPU during request processing by default; the high concurrency causes CPU contention — Cloud Run (gen2) allocates CPU based on request processing. With concurrency 80, and CPU-intensive tasks, the CPU may be throttled between requests. Option A is correct: gen2 only allocates CPU during request processing if not using CPU always on. Option B is incorrect because gen2 supports CPU-intensive tasks. Option C is incorrect because 4Gi memory should be sufficient. Option D is incorrect because scaling to 10 instances could help but doesn't address concurrency issue.
What should I do if I get this PCD question wrong?
Identify which PCD 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: "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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Question Discussion
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