What happens to the Terraform state file after a successful `terraform apply`?

It remains unchanged until the next `terraform plan`

It is converted to a JSON format for easier reading

It is updated to reflect the new infrastructure state

It is deleted to save storage space

What should you do first when `terraform apply` fails with a resource creation error?

Read the error message to identify the specific issue

Reinstall Terraform to fix the issue

Delete the state file and try again

Run `terraform apply -auto-approve` to bypass the error

A configuration defines a VPC, a subnet, an internet gateway, a route table, and an EC2 instance. The instance is failing due to a misconfigured user_data script. The team wants to fix only the instance without touching the network resources. They run terraform apply -target=aws_instance.web. After the apply, they run terraform plan and notice that the plan still shows changes to the VPC and subnet. What is the most likely explanation?

The -target flag applied changes to all resources but the state file was not updated for the VPC and subnet.

The -target flag only applied changes to the instance and its dependencies, so the VPC and subnet changes were not applied and remain pending.

The -target flag caused the VPC and subnet to be destroyed and recreated, but the state was not refreshed.

The VPC and subnet were modified outside of Terraform during the apply, causing drift.

After a successful terraform apply, a team wants to confirm that the new application version is deployed and the load balancer is routing traffic correctly. What is the most direct way to verify this using Terraform?

Check the terraform output values that expose the load balancer DNS name and instance health.

Run terraform apply again to see if it makes any changes.

Run terraform state show on the load balancer resource.

Run terraform plan and check that it shows no changes.

How can you verify the output values of a successful `terraform apply`?

By running `terraform show -json`

By running `terraform validate`

HashiCorp Certified:Terraform Associate

Domain 3Objective 5

3e Apply Changes to Infrastructure with Terraform TERRAFORM-ASSOCIATE-004 Practice Questions (Page 1)

Part of the Core Terraform workflow domain, which makes up ~20% of our current practice bank. HashiCorp does not publish an official question count, but from its 60-minute exam (~25–40 total, ~5–8 in this domain), expect 1–1 from this objective — we provide 30 practice questions to prepare you well beyond it. (estimate)

30questions here

6free pages

10concepts

Questions 1–5

1foundation · easy
What happens to the Terraform state file after a successful `terraform apply`?
Select an answer first
2foundation · easy
What should you do first when `terraform apply` fails with a resource creation error?
Select an answer first
3expert · hard
A configuration defines a VPC, a subnet, an internet gateway, a route table, and an EC2 instance. The instance is failing due to a misconfigured user_data script. The team wants to fix only the instance without touching the network resources. They run terraform apply -target=aws_instance.web. After the apply, they run terraform plan and notice that the plan still shows changes to the VPC and subnet. What is the most likely explanation?
Select an answer first
4application · medium
After a successful terraform apply, a team wants to confirm that the new application version is deployed and the load balancer is routing traffic correctly. What is the most direct way to verify this using Terraform?
Select an answer first
5foundation · easy
How can you verify the output values of a successful `terraform apply`?
Select an answer first

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