CompTIA A+ Core 1 — All Questions
Own the complete CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1101) guide — PDF + EPUB, $14.99 →
← Back to practice12 questions
What software layer creates and manages virtual machines on a host?
- a.Device driver
- b.Bootloader
- c.Hypervisor✓
- d.Firmware
A hypervisor abstracts physical hardware and allocates it to virtual machines. Firmware, drivers, and bootloaders serve other low-level roles and do not manage VMs.
Which type of hypervisor runs directly on the physical hardware without a host OS?
- a.Type 1 (bare-metal)✓
- b.Type 2 (hosted)
- c.Container engine
- d.Emulator
A Type 1 bare-metal hypervisor installs directly on hardware for maximum performance, as in enterprise virtualization. A Type 2 hypervisor runs on top of an existing OS.
In cloud computing, what does IaaS provide?
- a.Only a development platform
- b.Physical office space
- c.Virtualized compute, storage, and networking infrastructure✓
- d.Finished applications only
Infrastructure as a Service delivers virtual machines, storage, and networking that customers manage themselves. SaaS delivers finished apps and PaaS provides a development platform.
Which cloud model delivers ready-to-use applications over the internet, such as web-based email?
- a.On-premises
- b.PaaS
- c.IaaS
- d.SaaS✓
Software as a Service provides fully managed applications accessed through a browser, like webmail or online office suites. IaaS and PaaS provide lower-level infrastructure and platforms.
What is a key benefit of cloud elasticity?
- a.Resources scale up or down automatically with demand✓
- b.No internet requirement
- c.Fixed capacity regardless of demand
- d.Permanent local storage
Elasticity lets cloud resources expand or contract automatically to match workload demand, controlling cost and performance. Fixed capacity is the opposite of elasticity.
Which characteristic distinguishes a public cloud from a private cloud?
- a.It runs only on a single laptop
- b.It can never scale
- c.It is hosted by a third-party provider and shared among tenants✓
- d.It has no virtualization
A public cloud is operated by a provider and shares multi-tenant infrastructure among many customers. A private cloud is dedicated to a single organization.
What technology packages an application with its dependencies to run consistently across environments, sharing the host OS kernel?
- a.Disk image backup
- b.Full virtual machine
- c.Container✓
- d.BIOS update
Containers bundle an app and its dependencies and share the host kernel, making them lightweight and portable. A full VM includes an entire guest OS and is heavier.
A VM needs more processing power. Which resource does the administrator typically adjust in the hypervisor?
- a.The number of physical monitors
- b.The office thermostat
- c.The keyboard layout
- d.Allocated vCPUs and RAM✓
Administrators tune a VM's assigned virtual CPUs and memory in the hypervisor to change its performance. Physical peripherals and environmental settings are unrelated to VM resource allocation.
What is a common purpose of virtualization in a test lab?
- a.To remove the need for backups
- b.To eliminate all networking
- c.To run multiple isolated OS environments on one machine✓
- d.To increase monitor size
Virtualization lets a single physical machine host multiple isolated operating systems for testing and development. It does not remove networking or the need for backups.
Which cloud deployment combines on-premises resources with public cloud services working together?
- a.Air-gapped network
- b.Hybrid cloud✓
- c.Community cloud
- d.Bare-metal only
A hybrid cloud integrates private/on-premises infrastructure with public cloud so workloads can move between them. A community cloud is shared among related organizations, unlike a hybrid mix.
What does 'measured service' mean in cloud computing?
- a.Usage is metered so customers pay for what they consume✓
- b.Resources are unlimited and free
- c.Service quality is guessed
- d.Only one user is allowed
Measured service means the provider meters resource usage so billing reflects actual consumption, a core cloud characteristic. It is the basis of pay-as-you-go pricing.
Before creating multiple VMs on a host, which physical resource is most important to verify is sufficient?
- a.Color of the case
- b.Available CPU cores, RAM, and storage on the host✓
- c.Number of USB ports
- d.Brand of the mouse
The host must have enough CPU, memory, and storage to allocate across all planned VMs without overcommitting to the point of poor performance. Cosmetic and peripheral details are irrelevant.
How hard is the exam?
CompTIA A+ Core 1 (currently exam 220-1101) is up to 90 questions — multiple-choice plus performance-based simulations — in 90 minutes, with a passing score of 675 on a 100-900 scale. The voucher is about $253, and A+ requires passing both Core 1 and Core 2. Computer user-support specialists earn a median of about $60,340/year (BLS, May 2024).
- Recommended study hours
- 80-120 hours for most beginners; the performance-based simulations reward hands-on practice, not just reading.
- Pass rate
- We read CompTIA's own published material in September 2026 and there is no pass rate in it. CompTIA is unusually explicit about why: “it is CompTIA’s policy to not disclose pass rates to any external third party.” Any A+ pass rate you find quoted anywhere therefore did not come from CompTIA.Source: CompTIA — Exam Development (test policies), on disclosure of pass rates
- Where to focus first
- Hardware & Network Troubleshooting (about 29%) and Hardware (about 25%) are the largest areas — focus on real device and connectivity troubleshooting.
Fees and salaries are approximate and change over time. The pass rate above is quoted from the source linked beside it, for the period that source covers — where we have not checked a source, we say so and give no number.