Question 1easymultiple choice
Full question →easymultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A company stores employee records in a relational database table with columns EmployeeID, FirstName, LastName, Department. They also store employee handbooks as PDF files, and customer feedback as XML documents. Which of the following correctly classifies these data types?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Employee records: structured, Employee handbooks: semi-structured, Customer feedback: unstructured
Handbooks as PDF files have no internal schema, so they are unstructured, not semi-structured. Customer feedback as XML has tags and a loose structure, making it semi-structured, not unstructured.
B
Best answer
Employee records: structured, Employee handbooks: unstructured, Customer feedback: semi-structured
Correct classification: employee records in a relational table are structured; PDF handbooks are unstructured; XML feedback is semi-structured due to its hierarchical tags.
C
Distractor review
Employee records: semi-structured, Employee handbooks: unstructured, Customer feedback: structured
Employee records have a fixed schema, so they are structured, not semi-structured. Customer feedback in XML is semi-structured, not structured.
D
Distractor review
Employee records: unstructured, Employee handbooks: semi-structured, Customer feedback: structured
Employee records in a relational table are structured, not unstructured. Handbooks as PDF files are unstructured, not semi-structured. Customer feedback in XML is semi-structured, not structured.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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.
Related practice questions
Related DP-900 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
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Question 2
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Question 3
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Question 4
A data engineer is designing a data lake architecture in Azure. They plan to first ingest raw data from various sources into a landing zone in Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2. Then they will clean, validate, and deduplicate that data in a second zone. Finally, they will create aggregated, business-ready datasets in a third zone for analysts. This layered approach is known as which architecture?
Question 5
A data engineer needs to transform large datasets stored in Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 using Python and Apache Spark. They want a serverless compute option that automatically scales and requires no cluster management. Which Azure service should they use?
Question 6
A company collects customer feedback forms. Each form contains always-present fields like CustomerID and SubmissionDate, but also a free-text Comments field and optional fields like Rating or ProductCategory that vary between forms. How should this data be classified?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DP-900 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Employee records: structured, Employee handbooks: unstructured, Customer feedback: semi-structured — Structured data conforms to a fixed schema (e.g., relational database tables with defined columns). Unstructured data has no predefined structure (e.g., PDF files, images). Semi-structured data has some organizational properties like tags or hierarchies (e.g., XML, JSON). Employee records are structured, handbooks are unstructured (raw files), and feedback in XML is semi-structured.
What should I do if I get this DP-900 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
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