Practice for the CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201) exam with 17 exam-style practice questions, instant answer reveals, and concise explanations of every correct answer. Topics include: A user wants to connect multiple monitors to their computer. Which feature should they ensure their video card supports?. Follow @CertPunch and visit certpunch.com for more certification practice exams and study content.
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What you will practice
- A user wants to connect multiple monitors to their computer. Which feature should they ensure their video car…
- You want to send a text message from your mobile phone to another mobile phone. What technology enables the s…
- In a large organization, you want to segment the network to improve performance and security. What technology…
- A company wants to secure its network communications by encrypting data transmitted over the internet. Which…
- A graphic designer needs a device that allows natural hand-drawing motions for digital art creation. Which pe…
- A network administrator needs to implement a protocol for secure file transfer over the internet. Which proto…
Answers and explanations
Tap a question to expand the answer and the exam reasoning. Try to commit to your own pick first.
Q1. A user wants to connect multiple monitors to their computer. Which feature should they ensure their video card supports?
Answer: C. Multiple display outputs
To connect multiple monitors, the video card must physically support multiple display outputs. SLI and CrossFire link multiple GPUs together for performance, but they do not dictate how many monitors a single card can drive.
Q2. You want to send a text message from your mobile phone to another mobile phone. What technology enables the sending and receiving of short text messages on mobile devices?
Answer: C. SMS
Short Message Service, or SMS, is the standard cellular technology for sending and receiving short text messages. SMTP handles email routing, while SFTP and SNMP are used for secure file transfers and network management.
Q3. In a large organization, you want to segment the network to improve performance and security. What technology allows you to create virtual network segments within a physical LAN?
Answer: C. VLAN
Virtual LANs allow administrators to logically segment a physical network to improve performance and security. A VPN creates a secure remote tunnel, while UTP refers to the physical cabling used to connect network devices.
Q4. A company wants to secure its network communications by encrypting data transmitted over the internet. Which technology should they implement to achieve this?
Answer: A. IPSec
IPSec operates at the network layer to authenticate and encrypt data packets during internet transmission, securing communications. POP3 handles unencrypted email retrieval by default, while OLED and RAID relate to display and storage rather than network encryption.
Q5. A graphic designer needs a device that allows natural hand-drawing motions for digital art creation. Which peripheral device best suits this requirement?
Answer: C. Graphics tablet
A graphics tablet captures natural stylus movements, making it the best input device for digital art creation. Mechanical keyboards and gaming mice are input devices, but they lack the pressure sensitivity and drawing surface required for illustration.
Q6. A network administrator needs to implement a protocol for secure file transfer over the internet. Which protocol is the best choice?
Answer: C. SFTP
SFTP uses Secure Shell to encrypt both authentication and file data during transmission, making it the safest choice. Standard FTP sends credentials in plain text, while HTTP and SMTP handle web browsing and email routing rather than secure file transfers.
Q7. A user needs to quickly connect a printer to their laptop for immediate use. Which connection method offers a simple plug-and-play experience?
Answer: A. USB
USB offers native plug and play functionality, allowing a printer to connect and configure instantly without network setup. Ethernet and wireless options require configuration, and Bluetooth needs pairing before printing.
Q8. During the laser printing process, what is the correct order of steps that the printer undergoes from start to finish?
Answer: B. Processing, Charging, Exposing, Developing, Transferring, Fusing, Cleaning
The laser printing process strictly follows the sequence of processing, charging, exposing, developing, transferring, fusing, and cleaning. A strong exam tip is to memorize this exact order, as CompTIA heavily tests the specific stages rather than general printing concepts.
Q9. A user has overclocked their CPU and now experiences system instability and crashes. What should the technician recommend as the first corrective action?
Answer: B. Reset the CPU to its default clock settings
Resetting the CPU to its default clock settings is the best first step because it immediately removes the unstable variable and confirms the diagnosis. While installing a better cooling system might help thermals, returning the system to stock speeds resolves the root software configuration issue.
Q10. A user reports that their computer is running very slowly, and they hear a clicking sound from the tower. What is the first component a technician should check?
Answer: B. The hard drive for potential failure
A clicking sound accompanied by severe system slowdown is the classic click of death, indicating imminent mechanical hard drive failure. The technician should immediately back up data and check the drive, as insufficient memory causes slowdowns without mechanical clicking noises.
Q11. A network administrator notices that a switch port is repeatedly changing its state from up to down. What is this issue known as and what is a probable cause?
Answer: A. Port flapping, likely due to a faulty network cable
Port flapping happens when a link rapidly connects and disconnects, usually due to a damaged cable or a faulty network interface card. Port mirroring is an intentional configuration for traffic analysis, while congestion simply causes slowness without dropping the link state.
Q12. A city government is setting up a network to connect various municipal offices and facilities within the city. Which type of network is most appropriate for this purpose?
Answer: C. MAN
A Metropolitan Area Network, or MAN, is designed to span a geographic area the size of a city, making it the correct choice for connecting municipal buildings. A LAN covers a single building, while a WAN spans large geographical areas like countries.
Q13. In a large organization, there is a need to monitor and analyze network traffic for troubleshooting. Which device should be integrated into the network?
Answer: A. Network Analyzer
A network analyzer is the correct tool because it captures and inspects packets to troubleshoot complex network issues. While switches and routers forward traffic, they do not offer the deep packet inspection required for detailed monitoring.
Q14. A company wants to track the movement of products through its warehouse in real-time. Which technology should they use for this application?
Answer: B. RFID
RFID is the correct choice because it allows real-time tracking of inventory without requiring a direct line of sight. NFC requires very close proximity, making it inefficient for scanning multiple products across a large warehouse.
Q15. An organization wants to control and monitor all internet traffic going in and out of their network, as well as provide a level of anonymity for internal users. Which device should they implement?
Answer: C. Proxy server
A proxy server is the correct answer because it acts as an intermediary, fetching web requests on behalf of users to mask their internal IP addresses. A UTM focuses on security filtering, while a load balancer distributes traffic.
Q16. To improve email security, a company wants to verify that emails sent from its domain are legitimate and reduce the likelihood of their emails being marked as spam. Which DNS TXT record should they implement?
Answer: C. SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
An SPF record is correct because it is a DNS text entry that specifies which mail servers are authorized to send emails for a domain. MX records direct incoming mail, whereas A and AAAA records resolve domain names to IP addresses.
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