DA0-001 CompTIA Data+ Certification Exam Free Practice Exam Questions (2026 Updated)

The most likely cause of the issue is that the databases are recording the event in different time zones. A time zone is a region that observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. Different time zones have different offsets from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. For example, UTC-5 is five hours behind UTC, while UTC+3 is three hours ahead of UTC. If an event is being stored in two databases that are housed in different geographical locations with different time zones, it may appear that the event is being logged at different times, depending on how the databases handle the time zone conversion. For example, if one database records the event in UTC-5 and another database records the event in UTC+3, then an event that occurs at 12:00 PM in UTC-5 will appear as 9:00 AM in UTC+3. The other options are not likely causes of the issue, as they are either unrelated or implausible. The data analyst is not querying the databases incorrectly, as this would not affect the time stamps of the events. The databases are not recording different events, as they are supposed to record the same recurring event. The second database is not logging incorrectly, as there is no evidence or reason to assume that.Reference: [Time zone - Wikipedia]

The date parameters that the analyst should use are Q3 2019 vs. Q3 2020, as this will allow the analyst to compare the sales performance of the Q3 2020 promotion with the same period of last year. This will help to eliminate any seasonal or cyclical effects that might affect the sales data. The other options are not relevant for this purpose, as they either compare different quarters or different years. Reference: CertMaster Practice for Data+ Exam Prep - CompTIA

SCD stands for Slowly Changing Dimension, a common concept in data warehousing. It describes:

How to manage changes to dimension data (e.g., customer address, product category) over time.

Ensuring that historical facts are correctly associated with the appropriate version of the dimension at the time of the transaction.

Common SCD types (Type 1, Type 2, etc.) define:

Whether old values are overwritten (Type 1),

Or historical records are preserved with new rows and effective dates (Type 2),

Or a combination of methods.

This aligns with “a technique used to manage historical data changes” in dimensional data, especially in star schemas.

Why other options are incorrect:

Data profiling (A): SCD is not used for profiling; profiling examines structure/quality of existing data.

Sorting large data sets (B): Sorting is unrelated to SCD logic.

Archiving data (C): Archiving moves old data to long-term storage; SCD manages changes within dimensions, not general archival.

Therefore, SCD is best defined as “a technique used to manage historical data changes” (D).

CompTIA Data+ Reference (concept alignment):

DA0-001 Exam Objectives – Data concepts and environments: dimensional modeling and Slowly Changing Dimensions (SCD).

Standard warehouse design content on SCD Types 1/2/3 as methods to handle historical changes in dimension tables.

The analyst should rescale the data to fix this issue. Rescaling is a process of transforming data from one scale to another, such as changing the units of measurement. In this case, the analyst needs to rescale the temperatures from Fahrenheit to Celsius, which are two different scales for measuring temperature. To do this, the analyst can use the following formula:

Celsius = (Fahrenheit - 32) * 5/9

This formula converts each temperature value from Fahrenheit to Celsius by subtracting 32 and multiplying by 5/9. For example, if the temperature is 68°F, the rescaled value in Celsius is:

Celsius = (68 - 32) * 5/9 Celsius = 20°C

Rescaling the data can help the analyst to report the temperatures in a consistent and accurate way, and to avoid any confusion or errors that may arise from using different scales.Rescaling can also make the data more comparable and compatible with other data sources or standards that use the same scale12.

A flat file is a type of data structure that stores data in a plain text format, such as CSV, TSV, or TXT. A flat file consists of one or more records, each containing one or more fields, separated by a delimiter, such as a comma, tab, or space. A flat file does not have any hierarchical or relational structure, and does not support any complex queries or operations1.

A flat file may be the best data structure for the analyst to use in this scenario, because:

The analyst collects ten data points from 1,000 specimens, which means the data is relatively small and simple, and can be easily stored and processed in a flat file.

The analyst will not need any additional data to complete the analysis, which means the data is static and does not require any updates or modifications.

The analyst will not need to retrieve information by specifier, which means the data does not require any indexing or searching by key or value.

The correct answer is B. Snowflake.

A snowflake schema is a type of database schema that features normalized dimension tables. A database schema is a way of organizing and structuring the data in a database. Adimension table is a table that contains descriptive attributes or characteristics of the data, such as product name, category, color, etc.A normalized table is a table that follows the rules of normalization, which is a process of reducing data redundancy and improving data integrity by organizing the data into smaller and simpler tables12

A snowflake schema is a variation of the star schema, which is another type of database schema that features denormalized dimension tables. A denormalized table is a table that does not follow the rules of normalization, and may contain redundant or duplicated data. A star schema consists of a central fact table that contains quantitative measures or facts, such as sales amount, order quantity, etc., and several dimension tables that are directly connected to the fact table.A snowflake schema differs from a star schema in that the dimension tables are further split into sub-dimension tables, creating a snowflake-like shape13

A snowflake schema has some advantages and disadvantages over a star schema. Some advantages are:

It reduces the storage space required for the dimension tables, as it eliminates the redundant data.

It improves the data quality and consistency, as it avoids the update anomalies that may occur in denormalized tables.

It allows more detailed analysis and queries, as it provides more levels of dimensions.

Some disadvantages are:

It increases the complexity and number of joins required to retrieve the data from multiple tables, which may affect the query performance and speed.

It reduces the readability and simplicity of the schema, as it has more tables and relationships to understand.

It may require more maintenance and administration, as it has more tables to manage and update13

This is because Microsoft Excel is a type of software application that allows users to create, edit, and analyze data in spreadsheets, which are composed of rows and columns of cells that can store various types of data, such as numbers, text, or formulas. Microsoft Excel can be used for calculations and pivot tables, which are two common features or functions in data analysis. Calculations are mathematical operations or expressions that can be performed on the data in the cells, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, average, sum, etc. Pivot tables are interactive tables that can summarize and display the data in different ways, such as by grouping, filtering, sorting, or aggregating the data based on various criteria or categories. The other software applications are not used for calculations and pivot tables. Here is why:

IBM SPSS is a type of software application that allows users to perform statistical analysis and modeling on data sets, such as regression, correlation, ANOVA, etc. IBM SPSS does not use spreadsheets or cells to store or manipulate data, but rather uses data views or variable views to display the data in rows and columns. IBM SPSS does not have pivot tables as a feature or function, but rather has output views or charts to display the results of the analysis.

SAS is a type of software application that allows users to perform data management and analysis using a programming language that consists of statements and commands. SAS does not use spreadsheets or cells to store or manipulate data, but rather uses data sets or tables that are stored in libraries or folders. SAS does not have pivot tables as a feature or function, but rather has procedures or macros that can produce summary tables or reports based on the data.

Domo is a type of software application that allows users to create and share dashboards and visualizations that display data from various sources and systems, such as databases, cloud services, or web applications. Domo does not use spreadsheets or cells to store or manipulate data, but rather uses connectors or APIs to access and integrate the data from different sources. Domo does not have pivot tables as a feature or function, but rather has cards or widgets that can show different aspects or metrics of the data.

Analyzing the provided data sample reveals a potential data quality issue that needs to be addressed to maintain the dataset's integrity.

Option A:Data outlier

Rationale:A data outlier refers to a data point that significantly deviates from the other observations in the dataset. In this sample, all order quantities range between 5 and 11, showing

A dashboard with a scheduled delivery is an efficient way to provide a quick view of test performance. It allows for timely updates, which is crucial given that the superintendent needs the information promptly at the end of each month. The ability to filter scores by school enables the superintendent to easily segment and analyze the data as needed. Bar charts are effective for comparison and can visually communicate the performance across different schools or other categories, making it easier to identify trends and outliers at a glance.

Data integrity is the dimension that measures the consistency and validity of data across different data sources. In this case, the data analyst wants to create one column that contains the customers’ birth dates, but the data is stored in different formats and locations in the sample schema. For example, some customers have their birth dates in the customer table, while others have their birth years in the sales table. To compile the data into one column, the data analyst needs to ensure that the data is consistent and valid across the tables. Therefore, data integrity is the best explanation for the reason for compilation. References: Data Quality Dimensions - DATAVERSITY, The 6 Data Quality Dimensions with Examples | Collibra

The ‘Status’ column in the dataset shows different terms such as “yes”, “completed”, “done”, and “Y” that likely represent the same outcome - that a task has been completed. This variation in terms leads to inconsistency within the data. Data profiling aims to ensure that data is consistent, among other quality metrics, to facilitate accurate analysis and reporting. By recoding the ‘Status’ column, the analyst seeks to address this inconsistency, ensuring that all entries indicating completion are represented uniformly. This enhances the data quality and usability for subsequent data analysis tasks.References:

The action of recoding is taken to standardize the data entries and eliminate inconsistencies, which is crucial for maintaining data integrity and ensuring reliable data analysis.

Improving the performance of large dimension tables in a database is crucial for efficient data retrieval and processing.

Partitioning: This technique involves dividing a large table into smaller, more manageable pieces called partitions. Each partition can be accessed and maintained separately, which enhances query performance and simplifies data management. Partitioning allows the database to read only the relevant partitions during a query, reducing the amount of data processed and speeding up response times.

Sampling: This involves analyzing a subset of data rather than the entire dataset. While useful for statistical analysis, it doesn't improve the performance of queries on the full dataset.

Windowing: This refers to functions that perform calculations across a set of table rows related to the current row, such as moving averages. It's useful for analytical purposes but doesn't inherently improve table performance.

Sorting: Organizing data in a specific order can aid in readability and certain query operations but doesn't significantly impact performance on large tables unless combined with indexing.

Therefore, partitioning is the most effective method to enhance performance on large dimension tables.

Customer name is the field that should be masked, because it contains sensitiveinformation that could identify the government accounts that the financial institution deals with. Masking is a technique that replaces or obscures sensitive data with dummy or random data, such as asterisks or hashes. Masking can help protect the privacy and security of the data, while still allowing for some analysis and reporting. Therefore, the correct answer is D. References: [Data Masking | Definition, Techniques & Examples - Talend], [Data masking - Wikipedia]