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PL-300 · topic practice

Model the data practice questions

Practise Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst PL-300 Model the data practice questions — original exam-style scenarios with answer choices, explanations, and analysis of common mistakes.

Courseiva uses original exam-style practice questions designed for learning and revision. The goal is to understand the concepts, recognise exam patterns, and improve through explanations — not memorise copied exam dumps.

Reviewed byJohnson Ajibi· MSc IT Security
20 questionsDomain: Model the data

What the exam tests

What to know about Model the data

Model the data questions test whether you can apply the concept in context, not just recognise a definition.

How the topic appears in realistic exam-style scenarios.

Which detail in the question changes the correct answer.

How to eliminate plausible but wrong options.

How to connect the question back to the wider exam objective.

Watch out for

Common Model the data exam traps

  • Answering from memory before reading the full scenario.
  • Missing a constraint such as cost, availability, security, scope or command context.
  • Choosing a broad answer when the question asks for the most specific fix.
  • Ignoring why the wrong options are tempting.

Practice set

Model the data questions

20 questions · select your answer, then reveal the explanation

Question 1mediummultiple choice
Read the full Model the data explanation →

A Power BI developer creates a star schema with a fact table Sales and dimension tables Customer, Product, Date. The relationship between Sales and Date is active. The developer wants to create a measure that calculates the total sales for the previous month relative to any selected month. Which DAX expression should the developer use?

A Power BI data model includes a table 'Orders' with columns OrderID, CustomerID, OrderDate, SalesAmount. The model also has a 'Date' table and a 'Customer' table. The relationships are: Orders[CustomerID] -> Customer[CustomerID] (many-to-one, single direction) and Orders[OrderDate] -> Date[Date] (many-to-one, single direction). A user creates a measure that sums SalesAmount and then filters by a slicer on Customer[City]. The slicer works correctly. However, when the user adds another slicer on Date[Year], the measure does not respect both slicers simultaneously. What is the most likely cause?

A Power BI developer is designing a data model for sales analysis. The model includes a Sales fact table and dimension tables: Product, Customer, Date, and Store. Which TWO design considerations are best practices for optimizing query performance?

A Power BI developer is building a data model that includes a table 'Orders' with columns: OrderID, CustomerID, OrderDate, ShipDate, SalesAmount. The developer wants to analyze orders by both order date and ship date. Which THREE actions should the developer take to properly model this scenario?

A Power BI developer is troubleshooting a report that uses a calculated table. The calculated table is defined as: 'Sales Summary = SUMMARIZE(Sales, Sales[ProductID], "Total Sales", SUM(Sales[Amount]))'. Users report that the 'Total Sales' column shows incorrect values when slicers are applied to the report. What is the most likely cause?

Question 6mediummultiple choice
Read the full Model the data explanation →

A data modeler is creating a Power BI semantic model for a retail company. The model includes a 'Products' dimension table with columns ProductID, ProductName, Category, and Subcategory. The 'Sales' fact table has columns ProductID, Date, Quantity, and Revenue. The modeler wants to ensure that users can filter by Category and Subcategory. Which relationship type should be created between Products and Sales?

A Power BI developer is designing a semantic model that will be used by multiple departments. The developer wants to ensure that the model follows best practices for performance and usability. Which TWO actions should the developer take?

After loading the data using the Power Query M code shown in the exhibit, the model contains a table with 10,000 rows. However, when users filter by OrderDate in a report, the filter does not affect the aggregated TotalDue values. What is the most likely reason?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.

Exhibit: Power Query M code snippet
let
    Source = Sql.Database("Server01", "AdventureWorks"),
    Sales = Source{[Schema="Sales",Item="SalesOrderHeader"]}[Data],
    #"Filtered Rows" = Table.SelectRows(Sales, each [OrderDate] >= #date(2020,1,1)),
    #"Grouped Rows" = Table.Group(#"Filtered Rows", {"CustomerID"}, {{"TotalDue", each List.Sum([TotalDue]), type nullable number}}),
    #"Sorted Rows" = Table.Sort(#"Grouped Rows",{{"TotalDue", Order.Descending}})
in
    #"Sorted Rows"

A Power BI report uses a DirectQuery data source. The model includes a calculated column that uses the RELATED function to bring a value from another table. The report is performing slowly. What design change would most improve performance without compromising functionality?

Which TWO of the following are best practices for designing a data model in Power BI?

Question 11mediummultiple choice
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A company has a large fact table with sales data. The Sales table contains columns: OrderDate, ShipDate, DueDate, LineTotal, ProductKey, CustomerKey, TerritoryKey. The company needs to analyze sales by fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) and by calendar year. What is the recommended approach to model the date dimension?

Question 12hardmultiple choice
Read the full Model the data explanation →

You are a data analyst for a retail company. You are building a Power BI model to analyze inventory levels across multiple warehouses. The source data is a SQL Server database with two tables: Inventory (WarehouseID, ProductID, StockOnHand, ReorderPoint) and Product (ProductID, ProductName, Category, UnitPrice). The Inventory table has 500,000 rows, and Product has 10,000 rows. You import both tables into Power BI. You need to create a measure that calculates the total value of inventory (StockOnHand * UnitPrice) for products that are below their reorder point. You create the following measure:

TotalValueBelowReorder = CALCULATE( SUMX(Inventory, Inventory[StockOnHand] * RELATED(Product[UnitPrice])), Inventory[StockOnHand] < Inventory[ReorderPoint] )

However, the measure returns an incorrect total. You suspect an issue with the filter context. What is the most likely cause of the incorrect result?

Question 13easymultiple choice
Read the full Model the data explanation →

You are building a Power BI report for a sales team. You have a table named 'Sales' with columns: SalesDate, ProductID, Quantity, UnitPrice, Discount. You also have a 'Date' table with continuous date range. You create a relationship from Sales[SalesDate] to Date[Date]. You need to calculate the total sales amount (Quantity * UnitPrice - Discount). You write the following measure:

TotalSales = SUMX(Sales, Sales[Quantity] * Sales[UnitPrice] - Sales[Discount])

The measure returns the correct total. However, when you slice by month from the Date table, the total does not change. What is the most likely cause?

Question 14hardmultiple choice
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You are building a Power BI model for a logistics company. You have a table named 'Shipments' with columns: ShipmentID, OriginCity, DestinationCity, Weight, Cost, ShipDate, DeliveryDate. You also have a 'City' table with columns: CityName, State, Region. You create relationships: Shipments[OriginCity] to City[CityName] and Shipments[DestinationCity] to City[CityName]. Both relationships are active and many-to-one. You create a measure to calculate total cost:

TotalCost = SUM(Shipments[Cost])

When you use a slicer on City[State], you expect to filter shipments where either the origin or destination city is in that state. However, the filter only applies to the origin city due to the active relationship. You need to modify the model so that a single slicer on City[State] filters shipments where either origin or destination is in the selected state. What is the best approach?

You are designing a Power BI semantic model for a retail company. The model must support reporting on sales by product, store, and date. You need to decide on the modeling approach. Which TWO actions should you take? (Select exactly two.)

Question 16hardmultiple choice
Read the full Model the data explanation →

You are reviewing a Power Query M script used to create a table in Power BI. The script imports data from SQL Server, filters for orders in 2022, groups by ProductID to sum revenue, sorts descending, and takes the top 10. However, the table loads slowly. You need to improve performance. Which change should you make?

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.

```
let
    Source = Sql.Database("server1", "AdventureWorks"),
    SalesTable = Source{[Schema="dbo",Item="Sales"]}[Data],
    FilteredRows = Table.SelectRows(SalesTable, each [OrderDate] >= #date(2022,1,1) and [OrderDate] <= #date(2022,12,31)),
    GroupedRows = Table.Group(FilteredRows, {"ProductID"}, {{"TotalRevenue", each List.Sum([Revenue]), type number}}),
    SortedRows = Table.Sort(GroupedRows,{{"TotalRevenue", Order.Descending}}),
    Top10 = Table.FirstN(SortedRows,10)
in
    Top10

Drag and drop the steps to configure Row-Level Security (RLS) in Power BI Desktop into the correct order.

Drag steps to the numbered slots on the right, or tap a step then tap a slot.

Steps
Order
1Step 1
2Step 2
3Step 3
4Step 4
5Step 5

Drag and drop the steps to create a date table in Power BI Desktop using DAX into the correct order.

Drag steps to the numbered slots on the right, or tap a step then tap a slot.

Steps
Order
1Step 1
2Step 2
3Step 3
4Step 4
5Step 5

Drag and drop the steps to create a quick measure in Power BI Desktop into the correct order.

Drag steps to the numbered slots on the right, or tap a step then tap a slot.

Steps
Order
1Step 1
2Step 2
3Step 3
4Step 4
5Step 5

Match each Power BI component to its purpose.

Drag a concept onto its matching description — or click a concept then click the description.

Concepts
Matches

Transform and clean data

Create calculated columns and measures

Share and collaborate on reports

Create reports and data models

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Create a free account to save your results and see which topics improve across sessions.

Focused Model the data sessions

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Frequently asked questions

What does the PL-300 exam test about Model the data?
Model the data questions test whether you can apply the concept in context, not just recognise a definition.
How should I use these practice questions?
Select your answer before revealing the explanation. Then read why each option is right or wrong — this active recall approach builds retention far faster than re-reading notes.
Can I practise just Model the data questions in a focused session?
Yes — the session launcher on this page draws every question from the Model the data domain. Use a 10-question session first to gauge your baseline, then move to 20 or 30 once the weak spots are clear.
Where can I practise other PL-300 topics?
Use the topic links above to move to related areas, or go back to the PL-300 question bank to see all topics.
Are these real exam questions or dumps?
These are original practice questions written to test the same concepts the PL-300 exam covers. They are not copied from any real exam or dump site.