LPIC-1 System Architecture Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. $ lsblk NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT sda 8:0 0 233.8G 0 disk ├─sda1 8:1 0 512M 0 part /boot ├─sda2 8:2 0 230G 0 part / └─sda3 8:3 0 2.8G 0 part [SWAP] sdb 8:16 0 931.5G 0 disk └─sdb1 8:17 0 931.5G 0 part /data
The system administrator wants to add a new swap partition on /dev/sdb2. After creating the partition, which command should be used to initialize it as swap?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse `swapon` (which activates swap) with `mkswap` (which initializes it), mistakenly thinking `swapon` can both prepare and enable the swap area.
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
✓
mkswap /dev/sdb2
The `mkswap` command is specifically designed to initialize a partition or file as a swap area by writing a swap signature (UUID and swap superblock) to the device. After creating the partition, you must run `mkswap /dev/sdb2` to set it up for use as swap before activating it with `swapon`.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb2
Why it's wrong here
mkfs.ext4 writes an ext4 filesystem signature, not a swap signature, so the kernel will not recognise the partition as swap. It is the right tool when preparing a data partition for mounting, not for swap initialisation.
- ✗
fsck /dev/sdb2
Why it's wrong here
fsck checks and repairs an existing filesystem; it neither creates nor converts anything, and on a raw partition it finds no filesystem to inspect. It is correct for verifying integrity of an already-formatted volume, not for initialising swap.
- ✓
mkswap /dev/sdb2
Why this is correct
mkswap writes the swap signature and UUID onto /dev/sdb2, initialising the partition so the kernel can use it as swap space. This satisfies the requirement to prepare the newly created partition before swapon activates it or an /etc/fstab entry mounts it.
- ✗
swapon /dev/sdb2
Why it's wrong here
swapon activates an already-initialised swap area; it does not write the swap signature. mkswap performs that initialisation, so swapon alone fails on a raw partition. swapon is correct later, to enable swap already prepared with mkswap.
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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.