SF-Data-Arch Large Data Volume Considerations Practice Question
What is the consequence of having a 'non-selective' query running on an object with 50 million records?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often assume non-selective queries will simply run slowly. They fail to realize that the Salesforce platform proactively blocks or times out these queries to protect the multi-tenant environment.
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 query will be blocked or timed out by the platform.
Non-selective queries force the system to perform a full table scan. In an environment with millions of records, this consumes massive resources, often leading to query timeouts, increased CPU usage, and potential platform instability. Preventing this is the primary goal of data architecture, as it protects the multi-tenant environment and ensures that individual system processes do not consume resources allocated for other tenants or internal tasks.
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 query will fail immediately with a compilation error.
Why it's wrong here
Compilation errors occur during the code-saving phase, not during execution. A non-selective query is syntactically valid and will compile, but it will fail at runtime because it exceeds the resource limits defined by Salesforce for query selectivity, causing a runtime exception, not a compilation error.
- ✗
The query will run faster because it ignores indexes.
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring indexes is the opposite of fast; it forces the engine to examine every single row in the database. A full table scan on 50 million rows is computationally expensive and slow, leading to significant performance degradation compared to a query that uses an index to locate rows.
- ✓
The query will be blocked or timed out by the platform.
Why this is correct
To protect system resources, Salesforce restricts queries that are non-selective on large datasets. If a query cannot be optimized via an index, it is likely to be blocked or time out, ensuring that the system maintains consistent performance for all users in the multi-tenant environment.
- ✗
The query will automatically create an index for the fields used.
Why it's wrong here
Salesforce does not automatically create indexes based on query performance. Indexing is a deliberate administrative action. The system will not optimize the database structure based on failing queries; it will simply continue to block or time out the query until an administrator manually adds the required indexes.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every SF-Data-Arch question from scratch — 222 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 and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Salesforce exam blueprint
This SF-Data-Arch practice question is part of Courseiva's free Salesforce 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 SF-Data-Arch exam.