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PCPP2 Design Patterns Practice Question

Which TWO of the following are common risks when implementing the Singleton pattern in Python?

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

Race conditions in multi-threaded environments during instantiation

Global state and threading issues are the most prominent risks when implementing the Singleton pattern.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • Incompatibility with the abc module

    Why it's wrong here

    Singletons can be combined with ABCs easily.

  • Excessive subclassing of the Singleton class

    Why it's wrong here

    Subclassing is not an inherent risk, nor is it common for Singletons.

  • Race conditions in multi-threaded environments during instantiation

    Why this is correct

    Without locking, two threads could create two instances simultaneously.

  • Hidden global state dependencies throughout the codebase

    Why this is correct

    Singletons are essentially global variables, which makes unit testing difficult.

  • Increased memory consumption for every instance

    Why it's wrong here

    Singletons usually reduce memory because only one instance exists.

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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security

Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva

Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official Python Institute exam blueprint

This PCPP2 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Python Institute 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 PCPP2 exam.