- A
Cloud Dataproc
Why wrong: Dataproc is a managed Spark/Hadoop service; it is not serverless and requires provisioning clusters.
- B
BigQuery
BigQuery can query external data sources like Cloud Storage Parquet files using external tables, with sub-second performance.
- C
Cloud Bigtable
Why wrong: Bigtable is a NoSQL database; it requires data to be imported, not queried from files.
- D
Cloud SQL
Why wrong: Cloud SQL is a managed relational database; it cannot query external files directly.
Question 925 of 1,000
PCDOE Design and Plan Database Solutions Practice Question
This PCDOE practice question tests your understanding of design and plan database solutions. 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 wants to run complex analytical queries on terabytes of data with sub-second response times. The data is structured and stored in Cloud Storage as Parquet files. They need a serverless solution that can query the data directly without loading it into a database. Which service should they use?
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
✓
BigQuery
BigQuery is the correct choice because it is a serverless, fully managed data warehouse that supports querying structured data directly from Cloud Storage using external tables, without requiring data loading. It can handle terabytes of data with sub-second response times via its columnar storage, automatic scaling, and BI Engine for acceleration.
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.
- ✗
Cloud Dataproc
Why it's wrong here
Dataproc is a managed Spark/Hadoop service; it is not serverless and requires provisioning clusters.
- ✓
BigQuery
Why this is correct
BigQuery can query external data sources like Cloud Storage Parquet files using external tables, with sub-second performance.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Cloud Bigtable
Why it's wrong here
Bigtable is a NoSQL database; it requires data to be imported, not queried from files.
- ✗
Cloud SQL
Why it's wrong here
Cloud SQL is a managed relational database; it cannot query external files directly.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse BigQuery with Cloud Dataproc, thinking that Hadoop/Spark is required for large-scale analytics, but BigQuery's serverless architecture and direct Cloud Storage querying eliminate the need for cluster management and provide faster interactive response times.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
BigQuery uses a distributed query engine based on Dremel and a columnar storage format (Capacitor) to scan only the necessary columns, enabling fast analytics on large datasets. External tables in BigQuery allow querying Parquet files in Cloud Storage via a federated query approach, leveraging the metadata cache for performance. A real-world scenario is a data lake where raw Parquet logs are stored in Cloud Storage and analysts need to run ad-hoc SQL queries without ETL, which BigQuery supports with sub-second response for aggregated queries using BI Engine.
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 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.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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.
- →
Design and Plan Database Solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Design and Plan Database Solutions practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All PCDOE questions
1,000 questions across all exam domains
- →
Google Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
PCDOE practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related PCDOE practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Design and Plan Database Solutions practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Design and Plan Database Solutions.
Manage Database Solutions practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Manage Database Solutions.
Migrate Database Solutions practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Migrate Database Solutions.
Design for Reliability, Scalability, and Disaster Recovery practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Design for Reliability, Scalability, and Disaster Recovery.
Bootstrapping a Google Cloud organization for DevOps practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Bootstrapping a Google Cloud organization for DevOps.
Managing service incidents practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Managing service incidents.
Managing Google Cloud costs practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Managing Google Cloud costs.
Building and implementing CI/CD pipelines practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Building and implementing CI/CD pipelines.
Implementing service monitoring strategies practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Implementing service monitoring strategies.
Optimizing service performance practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to Optimizing service performance.
PCDOE fundamentals practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to PCDOE fundamentals.
PCDOE scenario practice questions
Practise PCDOE questions linked to PCDOE scenario.
Practice this exam
Start a free PCDOE practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCDOE question test?
Design and Plan Database Solutions — This question tests Design and Plan Database Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: BigQuery — BigQuery is the correct choice because it is a serverless, fully managed data warehouse that supports querying structured data directly from Cloud Storage using external tables, without requiring data loading. It can handle terabytes of data with sub-second response times via its columnar storage, automatic scaling, and BI Engine for acceleration.
What should I do if I get this PCDOE 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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This PCDOE 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 PCDOE exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.