This LPIC-1 practice question tests your understanding of gnu and unix commands. 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.
An administrator runs the command 'find / -name "*.conf" 2>/dev/null | head -n 10' and notices that the command returns very quickly. Which statement best describes what happened?
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
✓
It scans the entire filesystem but stops after sending the first 10 lines to head due to a broken pipe.
Option A is correct because the `find` command starts scanning the entire filesystem from root (`/`), but its output is piped to `head -n 10`, which reads only the first 10 lines and then closes the pipe. When `head` closes the pipe, `find` receives a SIGPIPE signal (broken pipe) and terminates early, so the command returns very quickly without scanning the entire filesystem.
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.
✓
It scans the entire filesystem but stops after sending the first 10 lines to head due to a broken pipe.
Why this is correct
Find continues until it tries to write after head closes, then stops.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
It lists 10 .conf files only from the current directory because the path is /.
Why it's wrong here
The path / means root, not current directory.
✗
It lists all .conf files in the filesystem because head only affects output, not find.
Why it's wrong here
head terminates find via SIGPIPE.
✗
It lists only the first 10 .conf files found in the filesystem.
Why it's wrong here
It lists the first 10 lines of output, but find may have found more; it stops early.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often think `head` simply filters output after the command finishes, not realizing that pipe-induced SIGPIPE causes the upstream command to terminate early, which is why the command returns quickly.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
It lists the first 10 lines of output, but find may have found more; it stops early.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, when a pipe breaks (e.g., the reader closes its end), the writer process receives SIGPIPE (signal 13) by default, which terminates it immediately. This is a common pattern in shell pipelines to avoid unnecessary work. In real-world scenarios, this behavior is crucial for performance: for example, `find / -name "*.log" | head -n 5` will stop searching after finding the first 5 matching files, saving significant I/O on large filesystems.
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 small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
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.
GNU and Unix Commands — This question tests GNU and Unix Commands — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: It scans the entire filesystem but stops after sending the first 10 lines to head due to a broken pipe. — Option A is correct because the `find` command starts scanning the entire filesystem from root (`/`), but its output is piped to `head -n 10`, which reads only the first 10 lines and then closes the pipe. When `head` closes the pipe, `find` receives a SIGPIPE signal (broken pipe) and terminates early, so the command returns very quickly without scanning the entire filesystem.
What should I do if I get this LPIC-1 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.
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 →
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.
This LPIC-1 practice question is part of Courseiva's free LPI 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 LPIC-1 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.