LPIC-1 Administrative Tasks Practice Question
Which TWO commands can be used to view all running processes on a Linux system? (Choose TWO.)
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse `jobs` (which only shows shell background jobs) with a system-wide process listing, or they think `ls /proc` alone is sufficient to view processes, when in fact it only lists directory names and requires additional commands to extract meaningful process data.
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
✓
top
`top`, is correct because it provides a real-time, interactive view of all running processes, including their PID, CPU and memory usage, and other dynamic metrics. Option E, `ps aux`, is correct because it displays a static snapshot of all processes on the system using the BSD-style syntax, where `a` shows all users, `u` provides user-oriented output, and `x` includes processes without a controlling terminal.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
jobs
Why it's wrong here
Only shows background jobs for the current shell.
- ✗
ls /proc
Why it's wrong here
Lists process directories, not process information itself.
- ✗
pstree
Why it's wrong here
Typically shows process tree, not all processes in a list.
- ✓
top
Why this is correct
Correct: interactive process viewer showing all running processes.
- ✓
ps aux
Why this is correct
Correct: shows all processes with detailed information.
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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.