This PL-300 practice question tests your understanding of prepare the data. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
You are importing data from a CSV file into Power BI. The file contains a column 'Price' with values like '$1,234.56'. When you preview the data, the column is recognized as text. You need to convert it to a decimal number. What should you do in Power Query Editor?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Replace values: remove '$' and ',' then change type to Decimal Number.
Option A is correct because Power Query Editor cannot automatically parse currency-formatted text like '$1,234.56' into a decimal number due to the non-numeric characters. By first using Replace Values to remove the '$' and ',' symbols, you strip the text down to '1234.56', which Power Query can then successfully convert to a Decimal Number type using the Change Type step.
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.
✓
Replace values: remove '$' and ',' then change type to Decimal Number.
Why this is correct
This cleans the text before conversion.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Split the column by delimiter and keep the numeric part.
Why it's wrong here
Splitting is unnecessary and may remove part of the value.
✗
Change the data type to Decimal Number directly.
Why it's wrong here
This will cause errors because the text contains non-numeric characters.
✗
Remove commas using Replace Values, then change type.
Why it's wrong here
The dollar sign remains, causing errors.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume Power Query's automatic type detection or a single Replace Values step (e.g., removing only commas) is sufficient, overlooking that both the currency symbol and thousands separator must be removed before the type change can succeed.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Power Query uses the `Table.TransformColumnTypes` function with locale-aware parsing, but it does not strip currency symbols or thousands separators automatically. A real-world scenario where this matters is when importing financial data from legacy systems that export CSV files with formatted currency strings; failing to clean all non-numeric characters before type conversion will cause the entire column to remain as text or produce errors in downstream calculations.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Prepare the data — This question tests Prepare the data — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Replace values: remove '$' and ',' then change type to Decimal Number. — Option A is correct because Power Query Editor cannot automatically parse currency-formatted text like '$1,234.56' into a decimal number due to the non-numeric characters. By first using Replace Values to remove the '$' and ',' symbols, you strip the text down to '1234.56', which Power Query can then successfully convert to a Decimal Number type using the Change Type step.
What should I do if I get this PL-300 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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