MS-900 Describe Microsoft 365 apps and services Practice Question
This MS-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe microsoft 365 apps and services. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
Get-Mailbox -Identity user1@contoso.com | Select -ExpandProperty RetainDeletedItemsFor
An administrator runs the above PowerShell command and receives output of '14'. What does this value indicate?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Items in the Deleted Items folder are permanently deleted after 14 days.
The PowerShell command `Get-MailboxFolderStatistics -Identity user@contoso.com -FolderScope DeletedItems | Select-Object -ExpandProperty RetentionPolicy` returns '14', indicating that the retention policy applied to the Deleted Items folder permanently deletes items after 14 days. This is controlled by the `RetentionPolicy` property, which reflects the number of days items are kept before being purged from the Deleted Items folder.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Inbox rules are retained for 14 days after deletion.
Why it's wrong here
Inbox rules are not affected by this property.
✓
Items in the Deleted Items folder are permanently deleted after 14 days.
Why this is correct
RetainDeletedItemsFor defines the retention period for deleted items.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The mailbox has a litigation hold for 14 days.
Why it's wrong here
Litigation hold is a different property.
✗
Calendar items are retained for 14 days after the meeting end.
Why it's wrong here
Calendar item retention is separate.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing the Deleted Items folder retention policy (which permanently deletes items after a set number of days) with the `RetainDeletedItemsFor` setting (which controls how long items are kept in the recoverable items folder after deletion).
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The `RetentionPolicy` property on a mailbox folder (e.g., Deleted Items) is set by the `RetentionPolicy` mailbox attribute, which links to a `RetentionPolicyTag` (RPT) for the Deleted Items folder. The default Deleted Items RPT in Exchange Online has a retention period of 14 days, but administrators can modify this via `Set-RetentionPolicyTag`. This value is independent of the `RetainDeletedItemsFor` mailbox property, which controls how long soft-deleted items are recoverable (default 14 days, max 30 days).
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this MS-900 question in full detail.
Describe Microsoft 365 apps and services — This question tests Describe Microsoft 365 apps and services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Items in the Deleted Items folder are permanently deleted after 14 days. — The PowerShell command `Get-MailboxFolderStatistics -Identity user@contoso.com -FolderScope DeletedItems | Select-Object -ExpandProperty RetentionPolicy` returns '14', indicating that the retention policy applied to the Deleted Items folder permanently deletes items after 14 days. This is controlled by the `RetentionPolicy` property, which reflects the number of days items are kept before being purged from the Deleted Items folder.
What should I do if I get this MS-900 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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