WGU C851 (Linux Foundations)
(Latest 2026/2027 Update) Questions
and Verified Answers | 100% Correct |
Grade A
This WGU C851 (Linux Foundations) requires passing the LPI Linux Essentials (010-160) external
certification exam, consisting of 80 multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions within 60 minutes. The
exam focuses on fundamental Linux command-line skills, basic security, user management, and open-
source concepts.
Key Details & Topics (Updated 2025-2026):
• Total Questions: 80-question study sets).
• Actual test Passing Score: 500 out of 800.
• Core Topics:
o Linux Command Line: Using commands to manage files, directories, and pipes (ls, cd,
pwd, cp, mv, rm, cat, grep).
o System Knowledge: Understanding components (kernel, GUI), hardware, and
processes.
o Permissions/Ownership: Understanding chmod, chown, and octal notation.
o User Management: Creating users and managing passwords.
o Open Source & Licensing: History of Linux and open-source licenses.
Preparation Strategy:
• Key Focus Areas: Command syntax, command options (-c, -f, -m, -x), and output
interpretation.
• Timing: The exam is beginner-friendly and often passed with 1–2 weeks of study.
Q1. Which command creates an archive file work.tar from the contents of the directory
./work/? [Multiple Choice]
A) tar -cf work.tar ./work/
, B) tar --new work.tar ./work/
C) tar work.tar < ./work/
D) tar --create --gzip work.tgz ./work/
Answer: tar -cf work.tar ./work/
Explanation: The tar -cf command creates an archive file (-c create, -f specify filename) from the specified
directory. The other forms are either syntactically incorrect or do not use the correct tar flags for creating
an archive.
Q2. What is the numeric user ID (UID) for the root account? [Multiple Choice]
A) 0
B) 1
C) 255
D) 65536
Answer: 0
Explanation: On Unix-like systems, the root user is assigned the numeric user ID 0. Other numeric values
listed are not the standard UID for root. Negative or very large numbers are not valid conventional root
UIDs.
Q3. What type of information does the top command display? [Multiple Choice]
A) Running processes, ordered by CPU or RAM consumption.
B) Existing files, ordered by their size.
C) User accounts, ordered by the number of logins.
D) User groups, ordered by the number of members.
Answer: Running processes, ordered by CPU or RAM consumption.
Explanation: The top utility displays active processes and resource usage, allowing sorting by CPU or
memory to identify heavy consumers. The other options describe file listings or account/group metadata,
which top does not show.
Q4. Which command will add a new user named tux and create that user's home directory
with default configuration files? [Multiple Choice]
A) useradd -m tux
B) usercreate tux
C) passwd -a tux
D) defaultuser tux
, Answer: useradd -m tux
Explanation: The useradd command with the -m option creates a new user account and also creates the
user's home directory populated with default configuration files. The other options are not valid standard
commands or use incorrect flags.
Q5. Which command can be used to resolve a DNS name to an IP address? [Multiple Choice]
A) host
B) dnsname
C) query
D) iplookup
Answer: host
Explanation: The host command is a simple DNS lookup utility that resolves domain names to IP addresses
(and vice versa). The other option names are not standard DNS lookup tools on Unix-like systems.
Q6. What are the typical permission bits set on the /tmp directory? [Multiple Choice]
A) rwxrwxrwt
B) ------rwX
C) rwSrw-rw-
D) r-xr-X--t
Answer: rwxrwxrwt
Explanation: /tmp is a world-writable temporary directory that also has the sticky bit set so that users can
create files but only the file owner (or root) can remove them. rwxrwxrwt shows rwx for owner and group
and rwx for others with the trailing 't' sticky bit. The other strings do not represent the standard /tmp
permissions.
Q7. Which of the following items is stored in /etc/passwd? [Multiple Choice]
A) The username
B) The user's storage space limit
C) The encrypted password (always)
D) The user's crontab entries
Answer: The username
Explanation: /etc/passwd stores fields including the login name (username), the numeric user ID (UID),
and the default shell among others. It does not store quotas (user storage limits) or the encrypted
password on systems where shadow passwords are used; encrypted passwords are typically stored in
/etc/shadow.
, Q8. Which bus type is commonly used to connect hard disk drives to a motherboard? [Multiple
Choice]
A) The SATA bus
B) The NUMA bus
C) The CPU bus
D) The RAM bus
Answer: The SATA bus
Explanation: SATA is the standard bus interface used to connect hard disk drives and SSDs to the
motherboard for storage devices. The RAM bus and CPU bus are for memory and processor-level traffic;
NUMA is a memory architecture concept rather than a disk interface; 'Auto bus' is not a standard disk
interface.
Q9. After running chmod 654 file.txt on a regular file, which permission string correctly
represents the file's permissions? [Multiple Choice]
A) -rw-r-xr--
B) drw-r-xr--
C) -rwxrw---x
D) --w-r-xr--
Answer: -rw-r-xr--
Explanation: chmod 654 sets permissions broken into owner/group/others as 6 (rw-), 5 (r-x), and 4 (r--). On
a regular file that appears as '-rw-r-xr--' where the leading dash indicates a regular file. The other strings
either include directory indicators, capital S bits, or incorrect bit combinations.
Q10. Which tar option enables gzip compression? [Multiple Choice]
A) -z
B) -g
C) -bz
D) -z2
Answer: -z
Explanation: The -z option with tar enables gzip compression (often invoked as tar -czf). The -j option
indicates bzip2 compression. Options like -g are for incremental archives and -bz or -z2 are not standard tar
compression flags.
Q11. What single keyword is used in the shell script example to begin a loop? [Multiple Choice]
A) FOR
(Latest 2026/2027 Update) Questions
and Verified Answers | 100% Correct |
Grade A
This WGU C851 (Linux Foundations) requires passing the LPI Linux Essentials (010-160) external
certification exam, consisting of 80 multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions within 60 minutes. The
exam focuses on fundamental Linux command-line skills, basic security, user management, and open-
source concepts.
Key Details & Topics (Updated 2025-2026):
• Total Questions: 80-question study sets).
• Actual test Passing Score: 500 out of 800.
• Core Topics:
o Linux Command Line: Using commands to manage files, directories, and pipes (ls, cd,
pwd, cp, mv, rm, cat, grep).
o System Knowledge: Understanding components (kernel, GUI), hardware, and
processes.
o Permissions/Ownership: Understanding chmod, chown, and octal notation.
o User Management: Creating users and managing passwords.
o Open Source & Licensing: History of Linux and open-source licenses.
Preparation Strategy:
• Key Focus Areas: Command syntax, command options (-c, -f, -m, -x), and output
interpretation.
• Timing: The exam is beginner-friendly and often passed with 1–2 weeks of study.
Q1. Which command creates an archive file work.tar from the contents of the directory
./work/? [Multiple Choice]
A) tar -cf work.tar ./work/
, B) tar --new work.tar ./work/
C) tar work.tar < ./work/
D) tar --create --gzip work.tgz ./work/
Answer: tar -cf work.tar ./work/
Explanation: The tar -cf command creates an archive file (-c create, -f specify filename) from the specified
directory. The other forms are either syntactically incorrect or do not use the correct tar flags for creating
an archive.
Q2. What is the numeric user ID (UID) for the root account? [Multiple Choice]
A) 0
B) 1
C) 255
D) 65536
Answer: 0
Explanation: On Unix-like systems, the root user is assigned the numeric user ID 0. Other numeric values
listed are not the standard UID for root. Negative or very large numbers are not valid conventional root
UIDs.
Q3. What type of information does the top command display? [Multiple Choice]
A) Running processes, ordered by CPU or RAM consumption.
B) Existing files, ordered by their size.
C) User accounts, ordered by the number of logins.
D) User groups, ordered by the number of members.
Answer: Running processes, ordered by CPU or RAM consumption.
Explanation: The top utility displays active processes and resource usage, allowing sorting by CPU or
memory to identify heavy consumers. The other options describe file listings or account/group metadata,
which top does not show.
Q4. Which command will add a new user named tux and create that user's home directory
with default configuration files? [Multiple Choice]
A) useradd -m tux
B) usercreate tux
C) passwd -a tux
D) defaultuser tux
, Answer: useradd -m tux
Explanation: The useradd command with the -m option creates a new user account and also creates the
user's home directory populated with default configuration files. The other options are not valid standard
commands or use incorrect flags.
Q5. Which command can be used to resolve a DNS name to an IP address? [Multiple Choice]
A) host
B) dnsname
C) query
D) iplookup
Answer: host
Explanation: The host command is a simple DNS lookup utility that resolves domain names to IP addresses
(and vice versa). The other option names are not standard DNS lookup tools on Unix-like systems.
Q6. What are the typical permission bits set on the /tmp directory? [Multiple Choice]
A) rwxrwxrwt
B) ------rwX
C) rwSrw-rw-
D) r-xr-X--t
Answer: rwxrwxrwt
Explanation: /tmp is a world-writable temporary directory that also has the sticky bit set so that users can
create files but only the file owner (or root) can remove them. rwxrwxrwt shows rwx for owner and group
and rwx for others with the trailing 't' sticky bit. The other strings do not represent the standard /tmp
permissions.
Q7. Which of the following items is stored in /etc/passwd? [Multiple Choice]
A) The username
B) The user's storage space limit
C) The encrypted password (always)
D) The user's crontab entries
Answer: The username
Explanation: /etc/passwd stores fields including the login name (username), the numeric user ID (UID),
and the default shell among others. It does not store quotas (user storage limits) or the encrypted
password on systems where shadow passwords are used; encrypted passwords are typically stored in
/etc/shadow.
, Q8. Which bus type is commonly used to connect hard disk drives to a motherboard? [Multiple
Choice]
A) The SATA bus
B) The NUMA bus
C) The CPU bus
D) The RAM bus
Answer: The SATA bus
Explanation: SATA is the standard bus interface used to connect hard disk drives and SSDs to the
motherboard for storage devices. The RAM bus and CPU bus are for memory and processor-level traffic;
NUMA is a memory architecture concept rather than a disk interface; 'Auto bus' is not a standard disk
interface.
Q9. After running chmod 654 file.txt on a regular file, which permission string correctly
represents the file's permissions? [Multiple Choice]
A) -rw-r-xr--
B) drw-r-xr--
C) -rwxrw---x
D) --w-r-xr--
Answer: -rw-r-xr--
Explanation: chmod 654 sets permissions broken into owner/group/others as 6 (rw-), 5 (r-x), and 4 (r--). On
a regular file that appears as '-rw-r-xr--' where the leading dash indicates a regular file. The other strings
either include directory indicators, capital S bits, or incorrect bit combinations.
Q10. Which tar option enables gzip compression? [Multiple Choice]
A) -z
B) -g
C) -bz
D) -z2
Answer: -z
Explanation: The -z option with tar enables gzip compression (often invoked as tar -czf). The -j option
indicates bzip2 compression. Options like -g are for incremental archives and -bz or -z2 are not standard tar
compression flags.
Q11. What single keyword is used in the shell script example to begin a loop? [Multiple Choice]
A) FOR
