LPIC-1 Administrative Tasks Practice Question
Exhibit
0 * * * 1-6 /script.sh
Refer to the exhibit. The job runs every hour but the administrator notices that it does not execute on Sundays. Which cron syntax element is responsible?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse the day-of-month field (3rd field) with the day-of-week field (5th field), or assume the hour field controls daily execution, when in fact the day-of-week field is the only one that can selectively exclude a specific weekday like Sunday.
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
✓
The day-of-week field
The day-of-week field (the 5th field in a cron expression) controls which days of the week the job runs. If this field is set to 1-6 (Monday–Saturday) or explicitly excludes 0/7 (Sunday), the job will not execute on Sundays. Since the job runs every hour but not on Sundays, the day-of-week field is responsible.
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 minute field
Why it's wrong here
The minute field controls only which minute within the hour the job fires; it cannot suppress a whole weekday. It is tempting because a stray value there changes timing, but Sunday exclusion comes from the day-of-week field, not minutes.
- ✗
The hour field
Why it's wrong here
The hour field sets which hours the job triggers, so a restricted value would skip hours on every day, not only Sundays. It is tempting since the job is hourly, but weekday-specific suppression is governed by the day-of-week field.
- ✗
The month field
Why it's wrong here
The month field governs which months a job runs, so a Sunday-only failure cannot stem from it. It is tempting because month and day-of-week fields look similar, but restricting months is the correct choice only when a job must skip entire calendar months, not one weekday.
- ✓
The day-of-week field
Why this is correct
The day-of-week field restricts execution to specific weekdays, so a value excluding Sunday prevents the hourly job from running that day. Since the stem states the job runs hourly but skips Sundays, this field is the only cron element that can suppress execution on a single weekday while leaving other days unaffected.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.