Two Practice Exams. 114 Questions. Zero Looking Up Answers.
Day 28 of the 30-Day Terraform Challenge and today I did something I've been dreading for weeks.
Two full practice exams. 57 questions each. 60 minutes each. No notes. No looking things up. No "just this one quick search."
Just me, the questions, and a timer.
Here's what happened, what I learned, and how I'm using my wrong answers to close the gaps.
The Scores
| Exam | Score | Percentage | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exam 1 | 42/57 | 74% | ✅ Pass |
| Exam 2 | 44/57 | 77% | ✅ Pass |
Difference: +3% on Exam 2. The warm-up effect is real. By the second exam, my brain was in Terraform mode and I was reading questions more carefully.
The passing threshold is 70% (40/57). I passed both, but not comfortably. There are clear gaps.
Domain Accuracy Breakdown
| Domain | Q's Attempted | Correct | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaC concepts | 8 | 8 | 100% |
| Terraform's purpose | 10 | 9 | 90% |
| Terraform basics | 12 | 10 | 83% |
| Terraform CLI | 14 | 9 | 64% ❌ |
| Terraform modules | 6 | 5 | 83% |
| Core workflow | 5 | 5 | 100% |
| State management | 5 | 3 | 60% ❌ |
| Configuration | 5 | 4 | 80% |
| Terraform Cloud | 2 | 1 | 50% ❌ |
Three domains below 70%:
- Terraform CLI (64%)
- State management (60%)
- Terraform Cloud (50%)
The CLI section is the heaviest-weighted domain (26%). This is where I need to focus.
Wrong-Answer Analysis
Question 1
Topic: terraform state rm behaviour
What I answered: The EC2 instance is terminated immediately
Correct answer: The instance continues running; only removed from state
Why I was wrong: I confused terraform state rm with terraform destroy. state rm only removes the resource from the state file. The real infrastructure is untouched.
Doc reference: Terraform state rm
Hands-on fix:
terraform state rm aws_instance.web
# Instance still running in AWS
terraform destroy # This would terminate it
Question 2
Topic: terraform plan -target behaviour
What I answered: Only plans the targeted resource
Correct answer: Plans the targeted resource AND any resources that depend on it
Why I was wrong: I thought -target was a surgical tool. It's not — Terraform must maintain dependency integrity.
Doc reference: Terraform plan -target
Hands-on fix:
terraform plan -target=aws_instance.web
# Also shows dependent resources like security groups
Question 3
Topic: terraform apply -refresh-only
What I answered: It refreshes the state and applies changes
Correct answer: It only updates state to match real infrastructure without making changes
Why I was wrong: I thought -refresh-only was part of normal apply. It's a separate operation.
Doc reference: Terraform apply -refresh-only
Hands-on fix:
terraform apply -refresh-only
# State updated, no resources modified
Question 4
Topic: Sentinel policy execution timing
What I answered: Before plan
Correct answer: After plan, before apply
Why I was wrong: I thought Sentinel was a pre-plan validator. It actually runs after plan to enforce policy on proposed changes.
Doc reference: Sentinel policies
Hands-on fix: Ran a Sentinel policy in Terraform Cloud workspace to see the enforcement flow.
Question 5
Topic: TFC workspace vs directory isolation
What I answered: TFC workspaces are separate directories
Correct answer: TFC workspaces are separate state files with collaboration features
Why I was wrong: I used S3 backend, not TFC. The mental model was wrong.
Doc reference: Terraform Cloud workspaces
Hands-on fix: Created a free TFC account and set up a workspace.
Hands-On Revision for Weak Areas
Domain: Terraform CLI
# Practiced each command
terraform state list
terraform state show aws_instance.web
terraform state mv aws_instance.web aws_instance.web_old
terraform state rm aws_instance.web_old
terraform plan -target=aws_instance.web
terraform apply -refresh-only
Domain: State Management
# Created test resources, ran state commands
terraform apply -auto-approve
terraform state list
# Removed from state, observed instance still running
terraform state rm aws_instance.test
aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids i-12345
# Re-imported
terraform import aws_instance.test i-12345
Domain: Terraform Cloud
- Created free TFC account
- Set up workspace connected to GitHub
- Configured variable sets
- Ran a remote plan
- Observed Sentinel policy enforcement
Pattern Recognition
After two exams, I noticed three patterns in my wrong answers:
1. CLI flag edge cases — I know the main commands but miss the specific flags (-refresh-only, -target dependencies, -upgrade behaviour)
2. State vs real infrastructure — I consistently confuse commands that affect state vs commands that affect real resources
3. TFC-specific features — I've used S3 backend throughout the challenge, so TFC questions are harder
The fix: Hands-on practice with each CLI flag and creating a TFC account to see the features in action.
Plan for Days 29 and 30
| Day | Focus | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| Day 29 | CLI + State | Drill every command, run state operations on test resources, write practice questions |
| Day 30 | TFC + Final Review | Complete TFC tutorials, review wrong answers, light review only |
Specific topics to prioritise:
-
terraform state mvandterraform state rmedge cases -
terraform plan -targetdependency behaviour -
terraform apply -refresh-onlyuse cases - TFC workspace vs directory structure
- Sentinel policy execution flow
What I Learned
Practice exams are not about the score. They're about finding gaps. My 74% and 77% are not impressive. But they showed me exactly where I need to study.
The wrong-answer review is the most valuable work. Writing down why I was wrong forces me to confront the misunderstanding, not just memorise the right answer.
The warm-up effect is real. My second score was higher. On exam day, I'll do a quick review session beforehand.
Hands-on beats reading. Every question I got wrong about CLI flags, I fixed by running the actual command.
The Bottom Line
| Before today | After today |
|---|---|
| Thought I was ready | Know exactly where my gaps are |
| Vague confidence | Specific weak domains (CLI, state, TFC) |
| No practice exam experience | Two full simulations |
Two days left. CLI, state, and TFC are my focus.
A wrong answer you have analysed properly will not fool you on exam day.
Resources:
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