Drag a concept onto its matching description — or click a concept then click the description.
Concepts
Matches
0-59
0-23
1-31
1-12 or Jan-Dec
EX200 Configure local storage Practice Question
Match each cron syntax field to its meaning.
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
✓
minute: 0-59
The five fields in a cron syntax are (in order): minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), and day of week (0-7). Common confusions include swapping the minute and hour 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.
- ✓
minute: 0-59
Why this is correct
The minute field is the first field in a cron schedule string and accepts integer values from 0 through 59, inclusive. It dictates the exact minute of the hour at which the job triggers, so a value of 30, for instance, runs the command at HH:30. This range is independent of the hour field, which governs the hour portion and uses a 0–23 scale.
- ✓
hour: 0-23
Why this is correct
The hour field is the second field in a cron schedule and accepts values from 0 through 23, representing the hour of the day in a 24-hour clock. For example, an hour value of 14 corresponds to 2:00 PM, while 0 designates midnight. This range must not be confused with the minute field, which controls the minute within the hour using a 0–59 range.
- ✓
day of month: 1-31
Why this is correct
The day-of-month field is the third field in a cron schedule and specifies the day of the month on which the job should run, using values from 1 through 31. A value such as 15 means the job runs on the 15th day of the month, regardless of the weekday. This field interacts with the month field, which further narrows the schedule to particular months, and is OR'ed with the day-of-week field in most cron implementations.
- ✓
month: 1-12
Why this is correct
The month field is the fourth field in a cron schedule and accepts values from 1 through 12, where each number corresponds to a calendar month from January (1) to December (12). It restricts the cron job to run only during the specified month(s); for example, a value of 6 limits execution to June. This differs from the day-of-month field, which selects a specific day within the chosen month.
- ✓
day of week: 0-7
Why this is correct
The day-of-week field is the fifth field in a cron schedule and accepts values from 0 through 7, with both 0 and 7 representing Sunday. Numeric values map to weekdays: 1 is Monday, 2 is Tuesday, and so on through 6 for Saturday. In standard Vixie cron, if both day-of-month and day-of-week are restricted, the job runs when either condition matches, which is a common source of scheduling confusion.
- ✗
minute: 0-23
Why it's wrong here
This option incorrectly assigns the hour field's range to the minute field. The minute field actually permits values from 0 through 59, because there are 60 minutes in an hour, while the range 0–23 applies to the hour field, reflecting the 24 hours in a day. Using a value like 30 in the minute field is valid, but a value of 30 in the hour field would be invalid because 30 exceeds the maximum hour value of 23.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every EX200 question from scratch — 427 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or 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 EX200 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Red Hat 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 EX200 exam.