A+ performance-based questions: what they are and how to practise them
A+ opens both Core 1 and Core 2 with PBQs before the multiple-choice section. They simulate a task rather than ask about it: configuring a device, ordering a troubleshooting sequence, or matching hardware to a symptom. Many candidates lose time here because they treat them like ordinary questions.
Why these questions exist
The A+ PBQs test whether you can apply the troubleshooting methodology rather than recall a definition. A question that asks which step comes first in diagnosing a failed boot is testing sequence and judgement, not vocabulary.
On the real exam these appear as performance-based questions (PBQs). Multiple-choice (single and multiple response) plus performance-based questions (PBQs) that simulate real troubleshooting tasks
- Flag and skip. PBQs appear first and can absorb twenty minutes each. Move past them, clear the multiple choice, then return with the remaining time budgeted deliberately.
- Read the deliverable before the scenario. Knowing what you must produce tells you which details in the scenario matter.
- Partial credit generally applies, so a partly completed PBQ beats a blank one. Never leave one untouched because you ran out of confidence.
How we practise them
Our A+ bank contains 28 PBQ-style exercises in two formats: matching tasks, where you pair each requirement to the capability that satisfies it, and ordering tasks, where you sequence the steps of a procedure. Each one carries the same full explanation as the multiple-choice questions, covering why the correct arrangement is right and why the plausible alternative is not.
These train the reasoning the exam tests — sequence, placement, and matching — rather than reproducing a vendor's simulation interface. Nothing here recreates the exam environment itself, and no practice product legitimately can.
See where you stand on A+
20 free questions, no card required. Your domain scores show which areas need work before you book the exam.
Learn the decision behind the answer.
Work through the scenario, identify the evidence that matters, then compare your reasoning with the explanation. Use domain scores to choose your next study session. A practice percentage is a learning signal, not a prediction or an official exam score.