The correct answer is that the cleanup.sh job runs at 4:30 AM on Monday through Friday. This is determined by the cron expression `30 4 * * 1-5`, where the first two fields set the minute to 30 and the hour to 4, the asterisks mean every day of the month and every month, and the final field `1-5` restricts execution to weekdays only—Monday (1) through Friday (5). On the Linux Professional Institute Certification Level 1 LPIC-1 exam, this type of question tests your ability to read and interpret cron schedule syntax, a core system administration skill. A common trap is confusing the day-of-week field with the day-of-month field, or forgetting that cron uses a 0-6 range where 0 and 7 both represent Sunday. To remember the weekday numbering, think of Monday as the start of the work week at position 1, and Sunday as the weekend bookend at 0 or 7.
LPIC-1 Administrative Tasks Practice Question
This LPIC-1 practice question tests your understanding of administrative tasks. 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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
It runs at 4:30 AM on Monday through Friday
The cron expression `30 4 * * 1-5` specifies that the job runs at minute 30, hour 4 (4:30 AM), every day of month (*), every month (*), but only on days of the week 1 through 5 (Monday=1, Tuesday=2, Wednesday=3, Thursday=4, Friday=5). Therefore, the job runs at 4:30 AM on Monday through Friday.
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 runs at 4:30 AM every day
Why it's wrong here
It only runs on weekdays (1-5).
✓
It runs at 4:30 AM on Monday through Friday
Why this is correct
Correct interpretation of the cron schedule.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
It runs at 4:00 AM on weekdays
Why it's wrong here
It runs at 4:30 AM, not 4:00 AM.
✗
It runs at 4:30 AM on weekends
Why it's wrong here
It runs on weekdays (1-5), not weekends.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often misread the minute field (30) as the hour or confuse the day-of-week range `1-5` with 'every day', leading them to select 'every day' or 'weekends' instead of the correct weekday-only schedule.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In cron, the five fields are minute, hour, day-of-month, month, and day-of-week. The day-of-week field uses numeric values where 0 and 7 both represent Sunday, and 1–6 represent Monday through Saturday. A range like `1-5` means Monday through Friday inclusive. A common subtlety is that if both day-of-month and day-of-week are specified (not *), the job runs when either condition matches, but here day-of-month is `*`, so only the day-of-week restriction applies.
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 practitioner preparing for the LPIC-1 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
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.
Administrative Tasks — This question tests Administrative Tasks — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: It runs at 4:30 AM on Monday through Friday — The cron expression `30 4 * * 1-5` specifies that the job runs at minute 30, hour 4 (4:30 AM), every day of month (*), every month (*), but only on days of the week 1 through 5 (Monday=1, Tuesday=2, Wednesday=3, Thursday=4, Friday=5). Therefore, the job runs at 4:30 AM on Monday through Friday.
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.
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 →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A system administrator wants to schedule a script to run every Monday at 3:00 AM, but only if the system clock is set to local time (not UTC). Which crontab entry should be used?
medium
A.3 0 * * 1 /path/to/script
✓ B.0 3 * * 1 /path/to/script
C.0 15 * * 1 /path/to/script
D.0 3 * * 0 /path/to/script
Why B: Option B is correct because the crontab format is 'minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week command'. To run at 3:00 AM Monday, the minute field is 0, the hour field is 3 (using 24-hour time), and the day-of-week field is 1 (Monday). The cron daemon does not care about UTC vs local time; it uses the system's configured timezone, so no special flag is needed.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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.
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.