DP-900 Describe core data concepts Practice Question
A retail company stores data about their products in different formats. Product ID and price are stored in a relational database table. Product descriptions are stored as plain text files. Product images are stored as JPEG files. Which of the following best categorizes these data types in order?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse unstructured data (e.g., plain text files) with semi-structured data (e.g., JSON or XML), leading candidates to misclassify product descriptions as semi-structured when they lack any metadata or tags.
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
✓
Structured, unstructured, unstructured
Product ID and price in a relational database table are structured because they follow a fixed schema with rows and columns. Product descriptions as plain text files have no predefined structure, making them unstructured. Product images as JPEG files are also unstructured because they consist of binary data without a schema. Thus, the order is structured, unstructured, unstructured, which matches option B.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Structured, semi-structured, unstructured
Why it's wrong here
Here the relational table is correctly called structured and the images are correctly called unstructured, but the middle classification is incorrect. Plain-text product descriptions are not semi-structured because they contain no embedded tags, keys, or key-value pairs that define a partial schema, unlike JSON or XML documents. Semi-structured data has flexible but recognizable organizational elements; free-form text has none of those, so it belongs in the unstructured category. Thus this answer is only partially right.
When this WOULD be correct
If the product descriptions were stored as XML or JSON files (semi-structured), and product images remained unstructured, then the order would be structured, semi-structured, unstructured.
- ✓
Structured, unstructured, unstructured
Why this is correct
The relational table is the structured component because it imposes a fixed schema of named columns such as product ID and price, each with defined data types and relational constraints. The product descriptions are plain natural-language text files with no predefined fields or data types, so they are unstructured. The product images are binary files (for example, JPEG or PNG) whose content is pixel data with no rows, columns, or queryable schema, making them unstructured as well. Hence the correct classification is structured, unstructured, unstructured.
- ✗
Structured, semi-structured, structured
Why it's wrong here
This option wrongly treats the image files as structured. An image is a binary large object (BLOB) whose content is encoded pixel data; it does not conform to a relational schema of rows and columns. It also wrongly classes product descriptions as semi-structured, since semi-structured data requires self-describing markers such as tags, keys, or delimiters (as in JSON, XML, or CSV), which free-form narrative text does not contain. Only the first slot, the relational table, is correctly identified as structured.
When this WOULD be correct
If the product descriptions were stored as JSON or XML files (with tags/attributes), and product images remained unstructured, then the order would be structured, semi-structured, unstructured.
- ✗
Semi-structured, structured, unstructured
Why it's wrong here
This option mistakenly labels the relational table (product ID and price) as semi-structured, but that table uses an explicit, fixed schema with defined data types and constraints, which is the classic definition of structured data. It also incorrectly classifies the plain-text product descriptions as structured; free-form narrative text has no definable columns, relationships, or data types. The final slot, images, is correctly identified as unstructured, but the first two errors make this choice incorrect.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question described product descriptions stored as XML or JSON files (with tags/keys), and product images as unstructured, then the order would be: structured (relational), semi-structured (XML/JSON), unstructured (JPEG).
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The DP-900 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓Structured, unstructured, unstructuredCorrect answer▾
Why this is correct
The relational table is the structured component because it imposes a fixed schema of named columns such as product ID and price, each with defined data types and relational constraints. The product descriptions are plain natural-language text files with no predefined fields or data types, so they are unstructured. The product images are binary files (for example, JPEG or PNG) whose content is pixel data with no rows, columns, or queryable schema, making them unstructured as well. Hence the correct classification is structured, unstructured, unstructured.
✗Structured, semi-structured, unstructuredWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Product descriptions as plain text files and product images as JPEG files are both unstructured data, not semi-structured. Semi-structured data has some organizational properties (e.g., JSON, XML), which plain text and JPEG lack.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the product descriptions were stored as XML or JSON files (semi-structured), and product images remained unstructured, then the order would be structured, semi-structured, unstructured.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may mistakenly think plain text files are semi-structured because they have some formatting (e.g., paragraphs), but semi-structured data requires tags or markers (like XML/JSON).
✗Structured, semi-structured, structuredWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Product descriptions as plain text files are unstructured, not semi-structured. Semi-structured data has tags or markers (e.g., JSON, XML), which plain text lacks.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the product descriptions were stored as JSON or XML files (with tags/attributes), and product images remained unstructured, then the order would be structured, semi-structured, unstructured.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse plain text files as semi-structured because text can have some internal structure (e.g., paragraphs), but in data classification, plain text without metadata or tags is unstructured.
✗Semi-structured, structured, unstructuredWrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Product descriptions as plain text files are unstructured, not semi-structured. Semi-structured data has tags or markers (e.g., JSON, XML), which plain text lacks.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question described product descriptions stored as XML or JSON files (with tags/keys), and product images as unstructured, then the order would be: structured (relational), semi-structured (XML/JSON), unstructured (JPEG).
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may mistakenly think that plain text files are semi-structured because they contain human-readable text, or they confuse 'unstructured' with 'no format' rather than 'no schema'.
Analysis generated from the official DP-900blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Data Roles and Core Concepts
Key term
Relational database
A relational database organizes data into tables with rows and columns, where each table relates to others using unique keys, allowing efficient storage, retrieval, and manipulation of structured information.
Key term
Table
A table is a structured collection of data organized into rows and columns, used in databases and spreadsheets to store and manage information efficiently.
About these practice questions
One of 820 original DP-900 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DP-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft 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 DP-900 exam.