- [Instructor] I highly recommend a few techniques
while answering exam questions to help you drill down
to a correct answer and save you time.
Before we get started on the techniques,
it's important to understand that a question
that has a circle beside the answers
means it's a single answer multiple choice question.
And the question that has squares beside the answers
indicates it's a multiple answer multiple choice question.
Cisco certification exam questions can seem tricky
or unfair at times.
One question tests your understanding of multiple topics
and how they interact.
You are seldom asked to regurgitate facts.
Let's look at this example.
This one question tests your overall understanding
of the spanning tree protocol.
Notice you are not asked to list or choose any facts
regarding spanning tree.
You are asked to analyze or apply your knowledge
from this output.
This one question tests your knowledge
of the following topics, spanning tree modes,
RSTP or STP, PVST+ or RPVST+,
Cisco propriety versions of spanning tree,
spanning tree states, root port versus designated port
and how to tell if the switch is a root bridge.
Also notice in order to choose the correct answers,
you have to understand most of the information displayed
in this output.
In order to choose the correct answers to this question,
you have to understand most of the information displayed
in the output.
Understanding how Cisco tests your knowledge
on their certification exam is crucial to passing the exam.
Sometimes it's just as difficult to understand
what the question is asking as it is
to find the correct answer.
You may need to read a question two or three times
before you can decide on correct answers.
Let's look at tip one,
look for and eliminate obvious answers
you know are incorrect immediately.
I call this the eyeballing method.
Instead of starting at answer number one and trying
to figure out if it's a valid IPv6 address,
quickly look at all the answers to find any
that are incorrect.
In this example, we know that IPv6 addresses
are hexadecimal.
The hexadecimal number line stops at the letter F
so quickly look for any letters beyond F
and eliminate that answer.
As you can see here, the fourth answer has the letter W
in it so we can eliminate it immediately.
We also know you can have only one set of double colons
in an address.
Skimming the answers quickly allows you to eliminate
the second answer as we see two sets of double colons.
Finally, look for any other obvious errors like the period
in answer number three.
Periods are not a part of an IPv6 address.
Without even checking the accuracy of answer number one,
we already know quickly it has to be the correct answer.
We have narrowed the field of answers to the correct answer,
thus saving time and allowing us
to move to the next question.
Just one more tip, check the first answer for accuracy
to make sure nothing is wrong with it.
Sometimes, Cisco will display two correct answers
and you have to decide which answer is more correct.
It doesn't apply to this question,
but it might apply to other questions.
Tip number two, don't be fooled by additional facts
in a question that have nothing to do with the answer.
Cisco also tests your knowledge by adding additional facts
to a question that have nothing to do
with answering the question.
In this scenario, Cisco lists the metrics
for each of the three dynamic routing protocols.
The problem here is that metrics have nothing to do
with finding the correct answer.
The correct answer is based on the administrative distance
of each of the protocols.
Notice, administrative distance is not mentioned
in the question.
That is because you should know
that when a router has multiple route sources
for a destination network, the protocol
with the lowest administrative distance is used.
Not only do you need to know that fact,
but you need to know
all the default administrative distances for route sources.
Tip number three, drag and drops.
Move answers you know are correct first
to the correct category.
This method eliminates the number of options you have left,
allowing you more time to think about the correct answers.
If you know either the two TCP protocols
or the two UDP protocols,
the other two answers are automatically correct.
Tip number four, don't panic when you see
what looks like a complicated question.
Take a deep breath, skim the answers,
choose the least complicated answer first
and check to see if it's correct.
A lot of times Cisco will display complicated device outputs
to use for very simple answers.
In this question, you're being asked,
which answer denies all traffic from VLAN 10
to the internet?
If you skim the answers quickly,
you see that three of the four answers
are denying only HTTP traffic.
Once you calm down and read the question,
you find out, it's a fairly simple answer.
Tip number five, choose the answer
that answers the question.
In this example, there are three answers that are true.
The two hosts are able to communicate,
a layer three device is needed for hosts
in different VLANs to communicate
and the two hosts are in the same broadcast domain.
However, only two of the answers answer the question,
the two hosts are able to communicate
and the two hosts are in the same broadcast domain.
A layer three device is needed for a host in one VLAN
to talk to host in another VLAN,
but that's not the case here,
the two hosts here are in the same VLAN.
So the correct answers would be the first
and the last answer.
These tips and techniques could be the difference
between passing and failing a certification exam.
Practice using these techniques on your practice tests
so they become second nature to you.