Mixed Domain Full-Length Mini Exam

This capstone lesson presents 10 mixed-domain scenario questions covering all four SAA-C03 domains: Secure Architectures, Resilient Architectures, High-Performing Architectures, and Cost-Optimised Architectures. Each scene presents a scenario with four answer choices followed by the correct answer and explanation. Treat each question as a timed challenge — aim for 2 minutes per question. Use the keyword and elimination techniques from previous lessons. At the end, the Quick Check quiz tests a final capstone scenario.

Q1 (Domain 1): An EC2 instance needs to access S3 without storing long-term credentials. Best solution: Attach an IAM role via instance profile. The application retrieves temporary credentials from the instance metadata service automatically — no keys stored anywhere.

Q2 (Domain 1): A developer accidentally committed IAM access keys to a public GitHub repository. What is the FIRST action? Answer: Immediately deactivate and delete the exposed access key pair. Attackers can find and use GitHub-exposed keys in seconds via automated scanners. Deleting the repository or rotating the key is too slow — the old active key must be invalidated first.