CAPM Predictive Plan-Based Methodologies Practice Question
A project team is troubleshooting a delay in the critical path. The project manager identifies that a non-critical activity has slipped by five days but the project end date remains unchanged. What is the most likely reason for this?
⚠ Common exam trap
CAPM often tests the distinction between total float and free float, and candidates may incorrectly assume any activity slip affects the project end date — the key is recognizing that non-critical activities have float to absorb delays.
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 slipped activity has sufficient total float to absorb the delay without affecting the critical path.
In critical path method (CPM), non-critical activities have total float — the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish date. If a non-critical activity slips by five days but the project end date is unchanged, the slip is within the activity's total float, so it is absorbed without impacting the critical path.
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 team used crashing to accelerate the non-critical activity.
Why it's wrong here
Crashing adds resources to shorten duration; it does not absorb a five-day slip without changing the end date. Crashing is chosen when the critical path itself must be compressed to meet a fixed deadline, not to explain why a non-critical activity's delay left the finish date untouched.
- ✓
The slipped activity has sufficient total float to absorb the delay without affecting the critical path.
Why this is correct
Total float is the schedule buffer a non-critical activity can consume before it delays the project finish. Five days of slip fits within that float, so the end date is unaffected and the critical path is unchanged.
- ✗
The slipped activity is actually on the critical path and the end date was recalculated incorrectly.
Why it's wrong here
A slipped non-critical activity cannot be on the critical path; by definition it holds float, so its delay need not move the end date. This option is tempting because mis-sequenced logic or a corrupted schedule calculation can wrongly place activities, but here the unchanged end date confirms the activity simply consumed float.
- ✗
The project manager applied fast tracking to overlap the slipped activity with its successor.
Why it's wrong here
Fast tracking overlaps sequential activities to compress the schedule; it does not explain a non-critical slip leaving the end date unchanged. Fast tracking is the right choice when the critical path must be shortened, but here the activity already had float to absorb the five days.
About these practice questions
One of 451 original CAPM 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 and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official PMI exam blueprint
This CAPM practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI 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 CAPM exam.