LPIC-1 Shells, Scripting and Data Management Practice Question
Exhibit
The output of 'cat /etc/crontab' shows: * * * * * root /usr/local/bin/backup.sh
Refer to the exhibit. When will the cron job execute?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often misinterpret `* * * * *` as 'every hour' or 'every day at midnight' because they focus on the asterisks without understanding that each field must be evaluated independently — every asterisk means 'every possible value' for that field, leading to execution every minute.
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
✓
Every minute.
The cron job entry `* * * * *` specifies five fields (minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week), each set to `*`, meaning 'every'. This results in the job executing every minute of every hour, every day of the month, every month, and every day of the week — i.e., every minute without restriction.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Every minute of every hour, but only weekdays.
Why it's wrong here
All asterisks mean all days.
- ✗
Every day at midnight.
Why it's wrong here
Would be '0 0 * * *'.
- ✓
Every minute.
Why this is correct
Five asterisks mean every minute of every hour of every day.
- ✗
Every hour.
Why it's wrong here
The first asterisk means every minute.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
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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.