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's laptop is overheating and shutting down frequently. The user notices that the cooling fan does not seem to be w. Follow @CertPunch and visit certpunch.com for more certification practice exams and study content.
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What you will practice
- A user's laptop is overheating and shutting down frequently. The user notices that the cooling fan does not s…
- A gamer is building a high-end gaming PC with multiple graphics cards and other power-hungry components. What…
- A gamer is building a high-end gaming PC and wants to ensure the CPU remains cool under heavy loads. Which co…
- After creating a new Ethernet cable, a technician wants to ensure that it is functioning correctly and that a…
- A company has a network that connects computers and devices in a single physical location, such as an office…
- A network administrator is setting up an internal office network. Which range of IP addresses should they use…
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's laptop is overheating and shutting down frequently. The user notices that the cooling fan does not seem to be working. Which component should be checked and potentially replaced to resolve this issue?
Answer: D. Cooling fan
The cooling fan must be checked and replaced if the laptop is overheating and shutting down. A failed fan breaks the active cooling cycle, causing thermal trip protection to trigger, unlike storage or CPU failures.
Q2. A gamer is building a high-end gaming PC with multiple graphics cards and other power-hungry components. What consideration is important when selecting a power supply for this build?
Answer: D. It should have a high wattage rating
High-end graphics cards draw significant power, requiring a power supply with a sufficiently high wattage rating to maintain stability. While modular cabling improves aesthetics, wattage determines whether the unit can actually support the demanding hardware load.
Q3. A gamer is building a high-end gaming PC and wants to ensure the CPU remains cool under heavy loads. Which cooling method provides the most efficient heat dissipation for this purpose?
Answer: D. Liquid cooling
Liquid cooling provides superior heat dissipation for high-end systems by circulating coolant to transfer heat away from the processor. While fans and heatsinks provide standard air cooling, liquid loops are specifically valued for handling intense thermal loads.
Q4. After creating a new Ethernet cable, a technician wants to ensure that it is functioning correctly and that all pins are properly connected. Which tool should they use to test this?
Answer: C. Cable tester
A cable tester validates continuity and proper pin connections at both ends of a newly created Ethernet cable. A toner probe is used for tracing and locating physical cables, not for verifying the electrical wiring of terminated ends.
Q5. A company has a network that connects computers and devices in a single physical location, such as an office building. What type of network is this?
Answer: B. LAN (Local Area Network)
A Local Area Network connects computers and devices within a single physical location, such as an office building. A WAN connects geographically dispersed locations, making LAN the correct choice for a single office environment.
Q6. A network administrator is setting up an internal office network. Which range of IP addresses should they use to ensure the addresses are private and not routable on the internet?
Answer: D. All of the above
All three listed ranges are designated as private IP address spaces, which are not routable on the public internet. Memorize these ranges, including the subnet boundaries, as they are frequently tested.
Q7. A company is experiencing a high volume of unwanted and potentially harmful emails. Which type of internet appliance is best suited to filter out these spam emails before they reach the company's email servers?
Answer: B. Spam gateway
A spam gateway specifically inspects and filters incoming emails to block unwanted messages before they hit internal servers. A Unified Threat Management device includes this feature but covers a much broader security scope.
Q8. In a network, what service automatically assigns IP addresses to devices and provides network configuration information?
Answer: C. DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, or DHCP, dynamically assigns IP addresses, subnet masks, and gateways to network devices automatically. DNS translates domain names, while ARP maps IP addresses to MAC addresses, making them incorrect for configuration assignments.
Q9. An office network is experiencing slow speeds. The network has not been upgraded or changed recently. What is a likely cause?
Answer: A. Network congestion due to increased usage
Network congestion is a highly likely cause of slow speeds when no recent configuration changes have been made. A sudden increase in users or bandwidth heavy applications easily saturates the available network capacity.
Q10. A user consistently experiences poor quality and choppy sound during VoIP calls. What is a potential cause of this issue?
Answer: B. High network latency
High network latency directly causes delayed and choppy voice transmissions during Voice over IP calls. While a defective microphone affects local audio quality, latency disrupts the timely delivery of packets across the connection.
Q11. A user's smartphone battery drains significantly faster than it did a year ago. The device is mostly used for browsing and social media. What is the most likely cause?
Answer: B. Poor battery health
Lithium ion batteries naturally degrade over time due to repeated charge cycles, resulting in significantly shorter battery life. If a device drains quickly during normal tasks like browsing, checking the battery health is the best first step.
Q12. A projector connected to a laptop is displaying images with incorrect colors. What should be the technician's first step in troubleshooting?
Answer: C. Check and, if necessary, replace the video cable
Incorrect or distorted colors on a projector frequently result from bent pins or a loose video cable connection. Always check the physical cabling and swap with a known good cable before moving on to software or expensive hardware replacements.
Q13. A user finds that some files are missing and others cannot be opened due to corruption. What could be a likely cause of this issue?
Answer: C. The hard drive has bad sectors or is failing
Missing files and corruption are classic symptoms of failing storage media with bad sectors. When the operating system cannot reliably read or write data, immediate backups and disk hardware replacement are necessary.
Q14. A user reports that their computer has become sluggish, especially when running multiple applications. What should the technician check first?
Answer: B. The available RAM and its usage
Checking available RAM is the correct first step because multitasking issues almost always point to memory exhaustion. If memory is completely used, the system slows down significantly. Drive speed and thermal throttling can also cause sluggishness, but RAM is the most direct culprit for this specific symptom.
Q15. After updating their operating system, a user finds that a critical application no longer functions properly. What is the first step they should take to troubleshoot this issue?
Answer: B. Check for and apply any updates to the application
Checking for application updates is the correct first step because an operating system upgrade often breaks compatibility with older software versions. Reinstalling the operating system or replacing the hard drive is far too extreme. A system restore might fix the issue but is not the best initial troubleshooting step.
Q16. A user's printer is not printing documents correctly, producing prints with missing colors and streaks. What is a common first step in troubleshooting this issue?
Answer: B. Performing a printer head cleaning
Performing a printer head cleaning clears clogged nozzles that cause missing colors and streaks. On the exam, always rule out physical maintenance first for print quality issues before considering firmware updates or changing the USB cable.
Q17. A gamer is building a high-end gaming PC and is concerned about overheating due to intensive graphic processing. Which cooling system should they consider for optimal temperature management?
Answer: C. Liquid cooling system
A liquid cooling system is highly effective for dissipating heat in high-end gaming PCs. While standard fans are common, liquid cooling provides superior thermal management for intensive graphics processing and overclocking.
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