IPA FE Subject A sample Questions and Answers

IPA FE Subject A sample

Questions IPA Japan published in 基本情報技術者試験科目A サンプル問題, translated into English, with IPA's answers. ITPEC is based on the same exams, so they are good practice for ITPEC too.

Question 1

When negative numbers are represented in two’s complement, which of the following is the expression that obtains −n for an 8-bit positive binary number n? Here, + represents addition, OR represents the bitwise logical sum, and XOR represents the bitwise exclusive logical sum.

a)(n OR 10000000) + 00000001b)(n OR 11111110) + 11111111c)(n XOR 10000000) + 11111111d)(n XOR 11111111) + 00000001

Question 2

The flowchart below shows the process of converting a decimal integer j (0 < j < 100) into an 8-digit binary number. The binary number is stored in array elements NISHIN(1) through NISHIN(8), starting from the lowest-order digit. Which of the following is the appropriate combination of processes to be inserted into blanks A and B in the flowchart? Here, j div 2 represents the integer part of the quotient when j is divided by 2, and j mod 2 represents the remainder when j is divided by 2.

(Note) The repetition specification of a loop limit shows variable name: initial value, increment, final value.

a)j ← j div 2NISHIN(k) ← j mod 2b)j ← j mod 2NISHIN(k) ← j div 2c)NISHIN(k) ← j div 2j ← j mod 2d)NISHIN(k) ← j mod 2j ← j div 2

Question 3

Same question on ITPEC: Oct 2024 Q1

P, Q, and R are propositions. It is known that the truth value of proposition P is true, and the values of both the propositions “(not P) or Q” and “(not Q) or R” are true. Which of the following is a combination of the truth values of Q and R? Here, X or Y represents the logical sum of X and Y, and not X represents the negation of X.

a)FalseFalseb)FalseTruec)TrueFalsed)TrueTrue

Question 4

Same question on ITPEC: Oct 2025 Q4 +1 more

For an automaton with input and output symbols {0, 1} and a state transition diagram shown below, which of the following is the output string for the input string 0011001110? Here, S₁ represents the initial state, and the label x/y on each arc indicates that if x is an input, then y is the corresponding output at the state transition.

a)0001000110b)0001001110c)0010001000d)0011111110

Question 5

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2019 Q5 +1 more

Which of the following is a binary search tree?

a)b)c)d)

Question 6

When the flowchart in Figure 1 was executed with array A in the state shown in Figure 2, array B came to be in the state shown in Figure 3. Which of the following is the operation to be inserted into blank a in Figure 1? Here, the elements of arrays A and B are A(i, j) and B(i, j), respectively.

Figure 1 Flowchart

(Note) The repetition specification of a loop limit shows variable name: initial value, increment, final value.

Figure 2 State of array A

Figure 3 State of array B after execution

a)B(7 − i, 7 − j) ← A(i, j)b)B(7 − j, i) ← A(i, j)c)B(i, 7 − j) ← A(i, j)d)B(j, 7 − i) ← A(i, j)

Question 7

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2023 Q9

A five-digit number a₁a₂a₃a₄a₅ needs to be stored in an array by means of hashing. When the hash function is mod (a₁+a₂+a₃+a₄+a₅, 13) and the number is stored in the array element at the position corresponding to the calculated hash value, which of the following is the position where 54321 is stored in the array? Here, the value of mod (x, 13) is the remainder after dividing x by 13.

a)1b)2c)7d)11

Question 8

Same question on ITPEC: Oct 2024 Q6

The function f(n) is recursively defined in terms of the natural number n as below. Which of the following is the value of f(5)?

f(n): if n≦1 then return 1 else return n + f(n−1)

a)6b)9c)15d)25

Question 9

Which of the following is an appropriate item to be specified in the coding standards of a program?

a)Even when local variables are used for different purposes, the same variable is used as much as possible if their data type is the same.b)To improve processing performance, floating-point variables are used as loop control variables.c)When a similar calculation is repeated many times, recursive calls of a function are used.d)When a memory allocation function is used, the processing for the case where the allocation fails is written.

Question 10

Same question on ITPEC: Oct 2020 Q11

Which of the following causes an external interrupt?

a)Notification of elapsed time by a timerb)The execution of a division-by-zero instructionc)The execution of a non-existent operation coded)The occurrence of a page fault

Questions 11–20

Question 11

ECC is used for error detection and correction in memory. When n+2 redundant bits are required for a data bus having a width of 2ⁿ bits, what is the number of redundant bits that are required for a data bus having a width of 128 bits?

a)7b)8c)9d)10

Question 12

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2022 Q13

Which of the following is the list that contains A through D sorted starting with the shortest effective access time of the main memory?

	Cache memory			Main memory
	Does the system have cache memory? (yes/no)	Access time (nanoseconds)	Hit rate (%)	Access time (nanoseconds)
A	No	-	-	15
B	No	-	-	30
C	Yes	20	60	70
D	Yes	10	90	80

a)A, B, C, Db)A, D, B, Cc)C, D, A, Bd)D, C, A, B

Question 13

There is a system that operates a virtualized machine environment on 20 physical machines. Under the operating conditions below, at least how many physical machines must stop for the system to go into degraded operation?

[Operating conditions]

(1)When a physical machine stops, the virtual machines that were running on it are run equally on all the other physical machines, and the resources they were using are distributed in the same way.(2)When there are 20 physical machines, the resources used are 70% on every physical machine.(3)If the resources used on one physical machine exceed 90%, the whole system goes into degraded operation.(4)Conditions other than (1) through (3) do not need to be considered.

a)2b)3c)4d)5

Question 14

Same question on ITPEC: Oct 2025 Q12 +1 more

One (1) server, three (3) clients, and two (2) printers are connected via a LAN as shown in the figure below. This system prints data that is located on the server in response to instructions from the clients. When the availability of each device is as shown in the table below, which of the following is the expression that represents the availability for the system? Here, the system is considered available if one (1) of the three (3) clients and one (1) of the two (2) printers are running.

Device	Availability
Server	a
Client	b
Printer	c
LAN	1

a)ab³c²b)a(1−b³)(1−c²)c)a(1−b)³(1−c)²d)a(1−(1−b)³)(1−(1−c)²)

Question 15

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2024 Q14 +1 more

Data is continuously sent for T seconds from the sending task to the receiving task in the diagram below. When the volume of data sent in 1 second is S and the volume of data received in 1 second is R, which of the following is the appropriate relational expression indicating the buffer size L to prevent buffer overflow? Here, the sending task has a higher transfer speed than the receiving task, and there is a sufficient time interval until the start of the next transfer.

a)L < (R − S) × Tb)L < (S − R) × Tc)L ≧ (R − S) × Td)L ≧ (S − R) × T

Question 16

Which of the following is an appropriate description of an interpreter?

a)It is a program that executes a source program while interpreting it.b)It is a program that translates a source program while making inferences.c)It is a program that translates a source program into an object program.d)It is a program that loads an executable program into main memory.

Question 17

When file areas are allocated on three media A through C under the conditions below, which of the following lists the media in descending order of the total amount of the allocated areas?

[Conditions]

(1)As the algorithm for selecting a medium when a file area is allocated, the method of selecting the medium with the largest free area is adopted.(2)The sizes of the file areas requested for allocation are 90, 30, 40, 40, 70, and 30 (Mbytes), in this order, and allocated file areas are not released along the way.(3)All the media have the same capacity, which is large enough for the allocation requests, and all of them are initially empty.(4)When the free areas are of equal size, the media are selected in the order A, B, C.

a)A, B, Cb)A, C, Bc)B, A, Cd)C, B, A

Question 18

Same question on ITPEC: Oct 2019 Q19

Which of the following is an explanation of an absolute path name in a file system?

a)The path name from the current directory to the target fileb)The path name from the home directory to the target filec)The path name from the root directory to the target filed)The shortest path name among path names from a certain directory to the target file

Question 19

Which of the following is a characteristic of DRAM?

a)Writing and erasing are performed all at once or in units of blocks.b)No refresh operation or access operation is required to retain data.c)It can retain stored information even when the power is cut off.d)Since the structure of its memory cells is simple, it can be highly integrated, and its cost per bit can be reduced.

Question 20

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2025 Q17 +4 more

When ordering data is entered in the format shown below, which of the following is the appropriate method for checking whether the order date is a business day that is the same as or prior to the entering date?

Ordering data

Form number(Characters)	Order date(Characters)	Product code(Characters)	Quantity(Number)	Customer code(Characters)

a)Duplication checkb)Format checkc)Logical checkd)Sequence check

Questions 21–30

Question 21

Which of the following is an appropriate description concerning views in an RDBMS?

a)A view is a derived table that is given a name.b)A view cannot be defined on a view.c)After a view is defined, its base table is defined if necessary.d)Only one view can be defined for one base table.

Question 22

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2023 Q28

Which of the following is the appropriate interpretation of the conceptual data model shown in the diagram in UML?

a)A department cannot exist without any employees.b)An employee can belong to multiple departments at the same time.c)An employee does not have to belong to a department.d)The total number of employees and the total number of departments match.

Question 23

Which of the following is an appropriate characteristic of a data lake, which is a place where big data is stored?

a)All kinds of data are stored in their original formats and structures.b)To reduce the amount of data, metadata, which is descriptive information about the data, is not stored.c)Before data is stored, how the data will be used is designed, and the schema is defined in advance accordingly.d)Different repositories are used according to the format of the data to be stored, such as text files and binary data.

Question 24

In the relational model, which of the following is the relational operation that obtains table Y from table X?

ProductNumber	ProductName	Price	Quantity
A01	Camera	13,000	20
A02	Television	58,000	15
B01	Refrigerator	65,000	8
B05	Washing machine	48,000	10
B06	Dryer	35,000	5

ProductNumber	Quantity
A01	20
A02	15
B01	8
B05	10
B06	5

a)Joinb)Projectionc)Selectiond)Merge

Question 25

Which of the following is a wireless communication technology used in IoT, and is used for a network called a wireless PAN (Personal Area Network) in which IT devices at a short distance communicate with each other?

a)BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy)b)LTE (Long Term Evolution)c)PLC (Power Line Communication)d)PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol)

Question 26

How many seconds are required to transfer 12 Mbytes of data by using a 1.5 Mbit/s transmission line? Here, the transmission efficiency of the line is 50%.

a)16b)32c)64d)128

Question 27

Which of the following is a standard for attaching image data and other such data to e-mail in an environment where TCP/IP is used?

a)JPEGb)MIMEc)MPEGd)SMTP

Question 28

Which of the following is a transport layer protocol that is used when real-time performance is more important than reliability?

a)HTTPb)IPc)TCPd)UDP

Question 29

Same question on ITPEC: Mar 2018 Q35

A PC and a web server are communicating via HTTP. When a request packet is sent from the PC to the web server, which of the following combinations of port numbers does the response packet have? Here, the source and the destination port numbers of the request packet are 50001 and 80 respectively.

Source (web server) port numberDestination (PC)port number

a)8050001b)5000180c)A number allocated on the web server, other than 80 and 5000180d)A number chosen by the web server other than 80 or 5000150001

Question 30

An illicit act of obtaining passwords or confidential information from people inside an organization by pretending that there is an emergency is classified as which of the following?

a)Social engineeringb)Trojan horsec)Stepping-stone attackd)Brute force attack

Questions 31–40

Question 31

Which of the following is an appropriate role of a C&C server in a botnet?

a)It caches the contents of websites and delivers the contents to users on behalf of the original server, thereby reducing the load on the network and servers.b)When the internal network of a company is accessed from outside via the Internet, it relays protocols such as CHAP, thereby preventing passwords from being eavesdropped during user authentication.c)When the internal network of a company is accessed from outside via the Internet, it issues one-time passwords that adopt the time synchronization method, thereby preventing passwords from being eavesdropped during user authentication.d)It sends commands from outside to computers that have been intruded into and taken over, so that they perform unauthorized operations such as attacks on other computers, and receives responses from them.

Question 32

Same question on ITPEC: Oct 2022 Q43 +1 more

Which of the following is the purpose of using a message authentication code?

a)To check the encryption method of a messageb)To check the overview of a messagec)To confirm that there is no falsification of a messaged)To secure the confidentiality of a message

Question 33

Which of the following is the effect that can be expected as an information security measure by introducing a UPS?

a)It prevents a PC from being infected with malware through power line communication (PLC).b)It prevents information leakage in communication between a server and terminals.c)It prevents data corruption caused by a momentary power interruption.d)It prevents the contents of e-mails from being falsified.

Question 34

Which of the following corresponds to fuzzing?

a)FIN packets are sent to a server, and the responses from the server are observed to find out the services that are running.b)Logs, command histories, and other records generated by the OS and application software on a server are analyzed to detect falsification of files stored on a file server.c)A wide variety of data that is likely to cause problems is input to software, and its behavior is monitored to find vulnerabilities.d)Packets flowing on the network are collected, and their protocol headers and payloads are analyzed to detect those that match attack patterns registered in advance.

Question 35

Same question on ITPEC: Nov 2021 Q41

Which of the following is dynamic analysis of malware?

a)Malware is identified by calculating the hash value of the subject for analysis and cross-checking it against a list of known malware hash values that are registered in an online database.b)On the basis of the file extensions and content of file headers on a hard disk, malicious program files with false extensions are detected.c)The subject for analysis is extracted from communication data on a network and reverse compiled, and the functions of the subject for analysis are investigated from the code obtained.d)The subject for analysis is run in a sandbox, and its behavior and external communication are observed.

Question 36

Same question on ITPEC: Spr 2020 Q43 +1 more

Which of the following is a method to prevent damage caused by an SQL injection attack?

a)Preventing input characters from being interpreted as characters that have a special meaning in querying or manipulating data in a databaseb)Rejecting any input that contains a character string that specifies a higher-level directory (../)c)Rejecting any input whose total length exceeds the limitd)Replacing an HTML tag with another character string that is not interpreted as an HTML tag if any input contains an HTML tag

Question 37

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2023 Q45

When a sender from domain A sends an e-mail to a recipient in domain B, which of the following is used by the mail server in domain A for authenticating the sender?

a)APOPb)POP3Sc)S/MIMEd)SMTP-AUTH

Question 38

In an object-oriented program, which of the following is the name of combining data and methods into one and making the details of the implementation of an object invisible to users?

a)Instanceb)Encapsulationc)Clusteringd)Abstraction

Question 39

Same question on ITPEC: Spr 2021 Q48

Which of the following is the weakest module coupling?

a)To implement as many functions as possible with a single moduleb)To pass arguments that control another module’s logic when the module is calledc)To pass only required data items as arguments between two (2) modulesd)To use a global area to share data items with other modules

Question 40

Which of the following is a technique for testing whether a module functions as described in the specifications without considering its internal structure?

a)Top-down testb)Black box testc)Bottom-up testd)White box test

Questions 41–50

Question 41

Among the rules for the sprint in Scrum of agile development, which of the following is appropriate?

a)After the length of the sprint is decided, the requirements definition process is assigned to the first sprint, the design process to the second, the coding process to the third, and the testing process to the fourth.b)The sprint review, which checks the contents of the deliverables, is held at the midpoint of the sprint period.c)The sprint goal is set so that a product increment on which a release decision can be made is created within the sprint length set for the project.d)In every sprint planning, the length of the sprint is set within the range of one week to one month according to the difficulty of the goal.

Question 42

Which of the following is a general characteristic of a project life cycle?

a)The number of development staff is largest at the start of the project, decreases as the project progresses, and increases again when the project nears completion.b)The degree of influence that stakeholders can exert on the deliverables of the project without changing the cost is greatest just before the project is completed.c)The closer the project is to completion, the smaller the degree to which changes and corrections of errors affect the project.d)Risk decreases as the project nears completion.

Question 43

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2023 Q55 +1 more

Which of the following is an appropriate explanation of the Function Point method for creating an estimate for software development?

a)It is a method for estimating the overall workload, where the development work is broken down into units of work items. The cumulative total of the workload for each item is then calculated based on a predefined standard value for the workload that is applied to each individual work item.b)It is a method for estimating the person-hours and development duration, on the assumption that the development scale is known. It can be applied to all fields, not just to the business field.c)It is a method for estimating the scale and person-hours of development based on some past experience of similar software, where similarities and differences of software are analyzed while past data is used for the similarities and past experience for the differences.d)It is a method for estimating the scale of software, where the functions of the software are quantitatively measured using elements such as the number of I/O data items and the number of files, and an adjustment is performed based on the complexity.

Question 44

What is the minimum number of days required from the start to the end of the project that has the schedule plan in the arrow diagram?

a)9b)10c)11d)12

Question 45

Same question on ITPEC: Nov 2021 Q55

Which of the following corresponds to benchmarking in process improvement of service management?

a)The availability, reliability, and performance are measured at the service level, and a report is sent to the customers.b)The current status of IT service management is analyzed from the viewpoint of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.c)The performance of IT services is measured from the viewpoint of finance, customers, internal processes, and learning and growth, and strategic activities are supported.d)The service quality and performance level are evaluated in comparison with the best practices within and outside the industry.

Question 46

Same question on ITPEC: Nov 2021 Q58

In the event of a disk failure, which of the following is a method for recovering a database by restoring a full backup data onto a disk from a tape, and then reflecting, from logs, post-update copies after the full backup was taken?

a)Checkpoint restartb)Rebootc)Roll forwardd)Rollback

Question 47

Same question on ITPEC: Oct 2020 Q59

Which of the following is the most appropriate measure that a management executive must take to secure the appearance of independence for an internal system auditor?

a)Assigning the system auditor to the internal audit departmentb)Making it compulsory for the system auditor to undergo continuous learning of ITc)Setting up an auditing-skills training system for the system auditord)Specifying and publishing the knowledge and experience necessary for the system auditor

Question 48

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2026 Q45 +1 more

In an information security audit, which of the following is a check item for confirming availability?

a)Appropriate performance of error checking for data entryb)Database encryptionc)Managing and maintaining the level of SLA that defines downtimed)Prohibiting the removal of external storage media from the company without permission

Question 49

Which of the following is an appropriate description concerning VDI used for telework?

a)A system in which PC environments are virtualized and placed on a server, so that from outside the company, a user can use one as his or her own desktop PC environment regardless of the type of terminalb)A dedicated network that is set up as a virtual leased line on the Internet and can be used only by specific peoplec)A tool that can convert materials kept on paper into electronic documents that can be referred to even from remote locations via a network, and store themd)A tool that enables communication similar to face-to-face communication via a network when it is difficult to hold face-to-face meetings

Question 50

For investment projects, when the investment effect over 5 years is evaluated by ROI (Return On Investment), which of the four projects a through d has the highest ROI? Here, the discount rate does not need to be taken into consideration.

Year		1	2	3	4	5
Profit		15	30	45	30	15
Investment amount	100

Year		1	2	3	4	5
Profit		105	75	45	15	0
Investment amount	200

Year		1	2	3	4	5
Profit		60	75	90	75	60
Investment amount	300

Year		1	2	3	4	5
Profit		105	105	105	105	105
Investment amount	400

a)ab)bc)cd)d

Questions 51–60

Question 51

The national and local governments choose products and services that are acknowledged as actively addressing environmental concerns. What is this initiative called?

a)CSRb)Eco Mark certificationc)Environmental assessmentd)Green procurement

Question 52

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2022 Q65

Which of the following is an explanation of the core competence?

a)Corporate activities that comply with laws, various regulations, and social norms for managing businessb)The business domain decided from the viewpoint of the market, technology, and products (or services)c)The overall business and system optimization methods for achieving the purpose of organizational activitiesd)The predominant abilities in the company’s business area, which competitors cannot imitate

Question 53

Which of the following is an explanation of the lean startup advocated by E. Ries as a technique for undertaking a new business?

a)A technique for launching a business of a public nature after examining and drawing up a detailed business plan in advance, on the premise that subsidies and grants are provided by public institutions such as the national and local governmentsb)A technique for investing additional management resources on a large scale in a business field that has lost its competitiveness because of changes in the market environment, and renewing it, so that it makes a fresh start as a core businessc)A technique for strictly executing a business plan drawn up in detail in advance, in order to build and deploy a sustainable business quickly, keeping the verification of results and changes to the plan to a minimumd)A technique for innovating continuously by creating a minimum viable product or service in a short period and improving it or changing its direction through a feedback loop of build, measure and learn

Question 54

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2022 Q73

Among the IoT application examples, which of the following is an explanation of HEMS?

a)Connecting energy devices such as solar power generators, consumer electronic devices, and sensors, etc., to a household communication network in order to visualize the energy used and optimally control consumptionb)Fully utilizing information communication technology and environment technology in order to visualize the energy urban infrastructure uses, including public facilities such as street-lamps and the transportation system, and optimally controlling consumptionc)Measuring data such as vehicular condition, road status, etc., with the sensors installed in the vehicle and saving and analyzing the data via a network in order to support efficient drivingd)Regularly measuring vibrations, temperature, sound, etc., with the sensors installed in factory machines, analyzing the degraded condition of the machines on the basis of the collected data, and replacing parts at the appropriate time

Question 55

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2019 Q73

Which of the following is a description of the long tail?

a)A link to a company is placed on a website or blog, and the company pays a referral fee when the product is purchased via the link.b)By directly shipping products from manufacturers or wholesalers, one can sell products on his or her own website without taking a risk of inventories.c)It performs necessary processing, including integrated and systematic management, and delivery of digital content such as text and images that comprise web content.d)The accumulated sales of the product groups that are not selling well account for a percentage that cannot be ignored against the total sales in Internet shopping.

Question 56

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2024 Q55 +1 more

Which of the following is an example of Consumer Generated Media (CGM)?

a)A website of a company through which the company publishes information about its management and financial status, as well as performance trends for individual investorsb)A website of a company through which the company transmits information about the characteristics and usage methods of its products to the general consumersc)A website of a government organization through which the organization publishes information about its policies and administrative services to the general publicd)A website such as a blog and SNS, etc. through which an individual transmits information to an unspecified number of people about the evaluation of products, etc. that the person has used

Question 57

Two (2) types of raw materials A and B are required to manufacture products X and Y. The quantity of each raw material required to manufacture one (1) unit of a product and the procurable quantity are as shown in the table. When the sales profit per unit is 100 yen for product X and 150 yen for product Y, what is the maximum profit in yen?

Rawmaterial	Required quantityper unit of product X	Required quantityper unit of product Y	Procurablequantity
A	2	1	100
B	1	2	80

a)5,000b)6,000c)7,000d)8,000

Question 58

When a PC purchased for 300,000 yen in April 2020 is sold for 10,000 yen three (3) years later, how much is the loss on sale of fixed assets, in 10,000 yen? Here, the useful life is four (4) years, depreciation is by the straight-line method, the depreciation rate of the straight-line method is 0.250, and the residual value is 0 yen.

a)6.0b)6.5c)7.0d)7.5

Question 59

When sales are 100 million yen, variable costs are 60 million yen and fixed costs are 30 million yen. Assuming that the variable cost ratio and the fixed costs do not change, what are the sales, in millions of yen, required to achieve a target profit of 18 million yen?

a)108b)120c)156d)180

Question 60

Which of the following is the relationship between the client company and the worker (the thick line in the figure), based on the Worker Dispatching Act?

a)Contract for work relationshipb)Employment contract relationshipc)Relationship of direction and ordersd)Worker dispatch contract relationship