PL-900 Practice Question: Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
```dax
Sales Growth % =
DIVIDE(
SUM(Sales[Amount]) - CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]), SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR(Date[Date])),
CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]), SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR(Date[Date]))
) * 100
```A Power BI report shows a measure 'Sales Growth %' defined as above. The measure returns blank for some months even though sales data exists. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume the blank result is due to missing data or a broken relationship, when in fact the root cause is that the date table is not properly configured to support time intelligence functions.
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
✓
The date table is not marked as a date table in Power BI.
When a date table is not marked as a date table in Power BI, time intelligence functions like SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR may not correctly identify the date context, causing them to return blank for certain periods even when data exists. Marking the table as a date table ensures that Power BI uses its built-in date hierarchy and calendar logic, which is required for functions that shift or compare date ranges.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The date table is not marked as a date table in Power BI.
Why this is correct
Time intelligence functions require a marked date table with continuous dates.
- ✗
The measure should use TOTALYTD instead of SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR.
Why it's wrong here
TOTALYTD is for year-to-date, not same period last year.
- ✗
The Sales table has no relationship with the Date table.
Why it's wrong here
If no relationship, SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR would still return blank, but a relationship is needed.
- ✗
The DIVIDE function requires a third argument for alternate result.
Why it's wrong here
DIVIDE without third argument returns BLANK when denominator is zero, but here denominator may be blank.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This PL-900 question is part of Courseiva's 904-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PL-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 PL-900 exam.