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Google Cloud · GCP-PCD · Advanced

Professional Cloud Developer — Practice Questions and Mock Exam

The Professional Cloud Developer certification validates the ability to design, build, test, and deploy cloud-native applications on Google Cloud.

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Checked against Google Cloud · October 2026 · Current exam version

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Configuring cloud-native applications for deployment1 / 5

You are deploying containers to GKE and want to ensure high availability of your application. You need to implement health checks that prevent traffic from being sent to pods that are not ready to serve requests. Which Kubernetes probe should you configure?

AlexFull explanation from Alex

In Kubernetes, readiness probes determine whether a pod is ready to receive traffic. When a readiness probe fails, the pod is removed from Service endpoints, preventing requests from reaching it. This differs from liveness probes, which restart containers that are stuck, and startup probes, which gate the initial startup period. 'Container probe' is not a valid Kubernetes probe type. For GKE deployments, readiness probes integrate with load balancer health checks—GKE can infer health check parameters from readiness probe definitions. Ref: docs.cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/troubleshooting/ingress-health-checks

Sourcecloud.google.com

Integrating applications with Google Cloud services2 / 5

Your application stores user-generated images in Cloud Storage. You need to generate thumbnails automatically whenever a new image is uploaded. Which event-driven architecture should you implement?

AlexFull explanation from Alex

Eventarc enables event-driven architectures on Google Cloud by routing events from sources like Cloud Storage to targets like Cloud Run functions. When an object is created in a bucket, Eventarc delivers a google.cloud.storage.object.v1.finalized event as an HTTP request to your function in near real-time. Cloud Scheduler polls on a fixed schedule—unsuitable for real-time processing. Cloud Monitoring alerts are for observability, not triggering compute. Cloud SQL triggers do not exist as a GCP event mechanism for object storage. Ref: docs.cloud.google.com/run/docs/tutorials/trigger-functions-storage

Sourcecloud.google.com

Designing highly scalable, secure, and reliable cloud-native applications3 / 5

You are designing an API for a microservices architecture on Google Cloud. The API must support bidirectional streaming, low-latency communication between services, and strongly typed contracts. Which protocol should you use?

AlexFull explanation from Alex

gRPC is a high-performance RPC framework by Google using Protocol Buffers for binary serialization (up to 7x faster than REST/JSON). It natively supports four patterns: unary, server streaming, client streaming, and bidirectional streaming. Proto files provide strongly typed service contracts with automatic code generation across languages. REST/JSON lacks native streaming and strong typing. GraphQL is optimized for flexible client queries, not inter-service communication. WebSockets support bidirectional communication but lack built-in service definitions, type safety, and code generation. Ref: docs.cloud.google.com/run/docs/triggering/grpc

Sourcecloud.google.com

Building and testing applications4 / 5

Your organization needs to scan container images for known vulnerabilities before they are deployed to GKE. Which Google Cloud service provides automated vulnerability scanning for container images?

AlexFull explanation from Alex

Artifact Analysis (formerly Container Analysis) automatically scans container images when pushed to Artifact Registry, detecting OS and language package vulnerabilities. It performs continuous analysis, updating vulnerability metadata as new CVEs are discovered. Binary Authorization enforces deployment policies but does not scan images—it relies on attestations. Security Command Center aggregates findings across services but does not perform container-specific scanning itself. Web Security Scanner tests running web applications, not container images at rest. Ref: docs.cloud.google.com/artifact-analysis/docs/container-scanning-overview

Sourcecloud.google.com

Configuring cloud-native applications for deployment5 / 5

You need to implement a cron-based scheduled task that triggers a Cloud Run service every day at midnight UTC. Which service should you use?

AlexFull explanation from Alex

Cloud Scheduler is Google Cloud's fully managed cron service for scheduling recurring jobs. It supports HTTP, Pub/Sub, and App Engine targets with unix-cron format scheduling (e.g., '0 0 * * *' for midnight UTC daily). It uses OIDC authentication for secure invocation of Cloud Run services. Cloud Tasks handles asynchronous task execution with configurable delays but is not designed for recurring cron patterns. Workflows orchestrates multi-step processes. Eventarc responds to events, not time-based schedules. Ref: docs.cloud.google.com/run/docs/triggering/using-scheduler

Sourcecloud.google.com

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Conversation preview · GCP-PCD

Create thumbnails on upload

You
How can an image upload start thumbnail generation?
Alex · AI tutor
Route the Cloud Storage object-finalized event through Eventarc to a Cloud Run handler.
Read the documentation ↗
You
Do I need to poll the bucket on a schedule?
Alex · AI tutor
No. The storage event triggers the handler when the object is finalized.
Read the documentation ↗

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GCP-PCD · Question excerpt

Create thumbnails on upload

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Your application stores user-generated images in Cloud Storage. You need to generate thumbnails automatically whenever a new image is uploaded. Which event-driven architecture should you implement?

Understand the correct answer.

Use Eventarc to trigger a Cloud Run function when an object is created in the bucket

Use an Eventarc storage trigger to invoke thumbnail processing.

Read the documentation ↗

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Questions: 55
Minutes: 120

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Question counts and mock exam settings from the current Pass-IT catalog.

Exam domains

What you practice for GCP-PCD.

Exam topics, relevant practice and sources you can check.

Designing cloud applicationsSee the guide for weighting103 QuestionsPass-IT questions

Plan applications around performance, security and data requirements.

Choose Compute Engine, GKE or Cloud Run and balance latency, caching, scaling, failover and cost.
Design REST or gRPC APIs, event-driven integration and workflow orchestration, including controlled traffic rollouts and rollbacks.
Secure identities, secrets, service communication and artifacts, and apply retention policies and vulnerability controls.
Choose storage and schemas by data volume and consistency needs, use signed Cloud Storage URLs and write analytical data to BigQuery.

Official certification objectives

Building and testingSee the guide for weighting62 QuestionsPass-IT questions

Prepare the development environment and automate builds and tests.

Configure local emulators, IDE integrations and Google Cloud development tools, including AI coding assistance.
Build containers with Cloud Build, store them in Artifact Registry and configure build provenance.
Write unit tests with coding-assistant support and run automated integration tests in Cloud Build.

Official certification objectives

Deploying applicationsSee the guide for weighting67 QuestionsPass-IT questions

Configure applications for Cloud Run and GKE.

Deploy source code to Cloud Run and configure Eventarc or Pub/Sub triggers and event receivers.
Expose, version and secure application APIs with tools such as Apigee.
Deploy containers to GKE and configure Kubernetes health checks and Horizontal Pod Autoscaler metrics.

Official certification objectives

Connecting services and diagnosing issuesSee the guide for weighting75 QuestionsPass-IT questions

Integrate data and APIs, then make application behavior observable.

Manage datastore connections, read and write data, and publish or consume messages.
Enable services and call APIs with client libraries, REST or gRPC, using service accounts and handling pagination, batching, caching and retries.
Instrument metrics, logs and traces, correlate services with trace IDs and investigate errors with Google Cloud Observability and Error Reporting.

Official certification objectives

Question formats you can practice

Multiple Choice: Select one answer.
Multiple Response: Select multiple applicable answers.

These are practice formats in Pass-IT. See the Official certification objectives for the official exam requirements.

How we review questions

Source check: The answer, answer options and explanation are checked against official documentation. We call this canonical validation.

Adversarial review: An additional AI reviewer specifically looks for factual errors, ambiguous answers and weaknesses in the explanation.

Learning objectives: We count specific exam topics with clearly linked exercises. Subheadings are not counted separately.

The figures refer to available questions in each GCP-PCD exam domain. The additional review count includes matching review logs for the current question version, even if errors were found. It is not an error-free rate.

The date shows the latest matching evidence or log entry in each domain. An import or transfer of an existing review result can update this entry. This does not mean the entire question pool has been reviewed again.

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Frequently asked questions

Your preparation

How much study time should I plan for GCP-PCD?

For planning, Pass-IT estimates roughly 60–150 hours. Relevant experience may put you toward the lower end; starting from scratch may put you toward the higher end. Your needs may fall outside this range. This is not a time requirement from Google Cloud or a promise that you will be exam-ready within that time.

What does the Professional Cloud Developer exam assume you know?

Google Cloud recommends three or more years of industry experience with at least one year building on the platform, without enforcing either. The catalog budget is around 100 hours. The questions expect you to have deployed and debugged something on Google Cloud rather than only written code that runs there.

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What language are Pass-IT questions in?

Questions in the app are currently in English. Translations of the sample questions on this page apply only to this preview. Check with Google Cloud for the languages available for the official exam.

How long does my GCP-PCD access last?

Access covers this certification for 12 months. You pay once, with no automatic renewal.

When does the money-back guarantee apply?

The guarantee refunds the Pass-IT purchase price for this certification. You need eligible paid access and a Readiness Score of at least 80% from your practice results when you take the exam. This score can only reach 80% after at least 50 answered questions and is not a validated probability of passing. Take the exam during your access period and submit official proof of failing within 14 days. Guarantee terms

About the GCP-PCD exam

Where can I take the GCP-PCD exam?

Online-proctored (Pearson VUE) or onsite-proctored at testing centers.

How long is Professional Cloud Developer valid?

Two years, like the other Google Cloud professional certifications. Renewal happens inside an eligibility window before expiry, so the date is worth putting in a calendar rather than trusting to memory.

What happens if you fail Professional Cloud Developer?

You wait 14 days for a second attempt, 60 days for a third and 365 days for any after that. Google Cloud also limits you to four attempts in a two-year window.

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Money back if you fail with at least 80% Readiness, for eligible purchases under the guarantee terms.

Guarantee terms

The guarantee refunds the Pass-IT purchase price for this certification. You need eligible paid access and a Readiness Score of at least 80% from your practice results when you take the exam. This score can only reach 80% after at least 50 answered questions and is not a validated probability of passing. Take the exam during your access period and submit official proof of failing within 14 days.

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