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Section 3 Practice Quiz: Deploying and Implementing a Cloud Solution

By the Cloud Cert Notes Editorial Team
Last updated: November 2026

This quiz tests hands-on implementation: deploying applications to Compute Engine, Google Kubernetes Engine, Cloud Run, and App Engine, configuring data services and networking, automating builds with Cloud Build, and loading or migrating data. Exam questions here describe a desired end state and ask which commands, settings, or services actually achieve it, including the common distractors and trade-offs that appear in real exam scenarios.

Choose the best answer for each question, then press the button at the end to score yourself. Every question includes a full explanation — if JavaScript is unavailable, open the explanation under each question to check the answer yourself.

1. A team wants to deploy a containerized application to a Kubernetes cluster with node management handled by Google as much as possible. Which GKE mode should they choose?

A. GKE Standard with manually managed node pools only B. Compute Engine instances with Kubernetes installed manually C. Cloud Run with Kubernetes YAML files applied directly D. GKE Autopilot, where Google manages nodes and applies best practices by default

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Correct answer: D. GKE Autopilot is a mode of operation where Google manages the cluster infrastructure, including nodes, scaling, and security defaults, and you pay for pod resource requests. Standard mode gives you control over node pools but more management responsibility. Installing Kubernetes manually on Compute Engine maximizes your operational burden, and Cloud Run does not accept Kubernetes manifests as a cluster. This distinction is frequently tested in scenario-based Associate Cloud Engineer practice and exam questions.

2. Which sequence correctly deploys a container to Cloud Run from source using gcloud?

A. Build a virtual machine image, copy it to a bucket, and start an instance B. Run gcloud run deploy with the source directory or container image, choose a region, and allow or restrict unauthenticated access as required C. Create a GKE cluster, then apply a StatefulSet for the service D. Upload the code to Cloud Storage and enable versioning

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Correct answer: B. Cloud Run deployment with gcloud run deploy can build from source using buildpacks or deploy an existing container image to a chosen region, creating a revision and directing traffic to it. Authentication settings control public access. The other options describe virtual machine, Kubernetes, or storage workflows that do not create a Cloud Run service. This distinction is frequently tested in scenario-based Associate Cloud Engineer practice and exam questions.

3. A Cloud Build pipeline should run tests and build a container image whenever code is pushed to a repository branch. How is this automated?

A. By creating a Cloud Build trigger connected to the repository and branch pattern B. By manually opening the console after every push C. By scheduling a Compute Engine instance to poll the repository D. By enabling Cloud Storage notifications on the bucket

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Correct answer: A. Cloud Build triggers automatically start builds in response to repository events such as pushes to a branch or tag, or pull requests, using a build configuration file that defines steps like testing and image building. Manual console runs and polling instances are not the managed automation mechanism, and Cloud Storage notifications respond to object changes, not source pushes. This distinction is frequently tested in scenario-based Associate Cloud Engineer practice and exam questions.

4. An engineer needs to create a Compute Engine instance with a specific machine type and image using gcloud. Which command is correct?

A. gcloud run instances create with a container flag B. gcloud app deploy with an instance name flag C. gcloud compute instances create INSTANCE_NAME with machine-type, image-family, and image-project flags as needed D. gcloud sql instances create with a machine-type flag

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Correct answer: C. Virtual machines are created with gcloud compute instances create, specifying options such as zone, machine type, and boot disk image. Cloud Run, App Engine, and Cloud SQL commands create their own resource types, not Compute Engine instances. Using the correct product namespace in gcloud is a common exam detail: compute for virtual machines, run for Cloud Run, sql for Cloud SQL. This distinction is frequently tested in scenario-based Associate Cloud Engineer practice and exam questions.

5. A team is loading a large CSV file from Cloud Storage into BigQuery for analysis and wants a one-time load without building a pipeline. What should they do?

A. Copy the file into a Cloud SQL instance and query it there B. Create a BigQuery load job or use bq load pointing at the Cloud Storage URI and target table C. Start a Dataproc cluster and read the file manually each time D. Enable BigQuery access by making the bucket public to the internet

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Correct answer: B. BigQuery can load data directly from Cloud Storage using a load job in the console, the bq load command, or the API, defining the destination table and schema detection or an explicit schema. This is the simplest one-time ingestion path. Moving data into Cloud SQL changes the system, Dataproc adds cluster overhead for a simple load, and making a bucket public is a security risk and unnecessary.

6. How does deploying a new version of an App Engine application typically handle traffic?

A. The old version is always deleted immediately with no control B. Traffic can only be controlled by DNS changes outside App Engine C. Every deployment requires creating a new project D. A new version is deployed alongside existing versions, and you can split or migrate traffic between versions

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Correct answer: D. App Engine supports multiple versions of a service coexisting, allowing traffic migration or traffic splitting for gradual rollouts and easy rollback. Versions are not automatically deleted on each deploy, and traffic control is a built-in App Engine feature rather than an external DNS exercise. New versions belong to the same application and project, not a new project. This distinction is frequently tested in scenario-based Associate Cloud Engineer practice and exam questions.

7. A GKE application needs to expose a service to the internet with a stable external address managed by Kubernetes. Which object should be created?

A. A Service of type LoadBalancer or an Ingress resource B. A ConfigMap containing the external IP address as text C. A PersistentVolumeClaim with internet access enabled D. A Pod with a public image name

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Correct answer: A. In Kubernetes on GKE, a Service of type LoadBalancer provisions a cloud load balancer, and Ingress provides HTTP and HTTPS routing with a load balancer. These are the standard ways to expose workloads externally. ConfigMaps store configuration data, PersistentVolumeClaims request storage, and pod image names do not control network exposure. This distinction is frequently tested in scenario-based Associate Cloud Engineer practice and exam questions.

8. An engineer wants infrastructure deployments to be repeatable and version-controlled rather than manual console clicks. Which approach best fits Google Cloud deployments?

A. Document the console steps in a shared note and repeat them carefully B. Take screenshots of the console for each environment C. Use Infrastructure as Code, such as Terraform configurations stored in version control, and apply them consistently D. Create resources once and never document how they were made

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Correct answer: C. Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform let you declare Google Cloud resources in configuration files, store them in version control, review changes, and apply the same plan across environments. Manual console steps, screenshots, and undocumented one-off creation are error-prone and not repeatable. The ACE expects familiarity with IaC concepts and Deployment Manager or Terraform style workflows at a conceptual level. This distinction is frequently tested in scenario-based Associate Cloud Engineer practice and exam questions.

9. A database administrator needs to create a Cloud SQL instance and then allow an application running on Compute Engine in the same VPC to connect privately. What should be configured?

A. Give the instance a public IP and open it to all addresses B. Enable private IP for the Cloud SQL instance using private services access on the VPC, and connect using its private address C. Store the database files on the application server disk instead D. Use Cloud Storage as a proxy between the application and database

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Correct answer: B. Cloud SQL supports private IP connectivity through private services access, so clients in the same or peered VPC can connect without traversing the public internet, improving security and latency. Opening a public database to all addresses is dangerous and a common wrong answer. The application should connect to the managed database service, not replace it with local files or a storage proxy.

10. Which Cloud Build configuration file defines build steps, and what is a common step in a container pipeline?

A. cloudbuild.yaml, with steps such as running a Docker build and pushing the image to Artifact Registry B. app.yaml, with a step to enable billing C. Dockerfile alone, which also schedules triggers and IAM D. sitemap.xml, listing the build steps for search engines

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Correct answer: A. Cloud Build uses a build configuration, commonly cloudbuild.yaml, that lists steps executed in containers, for example building an image with Docker and pushing it to Artifact Registry. The Dockerfile defines how an image is built but does not define the whole Cloud Build pipeline or triggers. app.yaml configures App Engine, and sitemap files are unrelated to builds. This distinction is frequently tested in scenario-based Associate Cloud Engineer practice and exam questions.

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