100+ Free OTCA Practice Questions

Pass your OpenTelemetry Certified Associate (OTCA) exam on the first try — instant access, no signup required.

✓ No registration✓ No credit card✓ No hidden fees✓ Start practicing immediately

100+ Questions

100% Free

1 / 10

Question 1

Score: 0/0

Which three signals are first-class citizens in OpenTelemetry?

Traces, metrics, logs

CPU, memory, disk

Events, users, sessions

Heap, stack, code

to track

2026 Statistics

Key Facts: OTCA Exam

Questions

Linux Foundation

90 min

Time Limit

Linux Foundation

75%

Passing Score

Linux Foundation

$250

Exam Fee

Linux Foundation

2 attempts

Included

OTCA product page

12 months

Eligibility Window

Candidate handbook

As of April 15, 2026, the Linux Foundation lists OTCA as a 60-question, 90-minute online proctored multiple-choice exam with a 75% passing score and a $250 exam-only fee. The current curriculum weights The OpenTelemetry API and SDK at 46%, The OpenTelemetry Collector at 26%, Fundamentals of Observability at 18%, and Maintaining and Debugging Observability Pipelines at 10%. Two exam attempts are included within the 12-month eligibility window.

Sample OTCA Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your OTCA exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1Which three signals are first-class citizens in OpenTelemetry?

A.Traces, metrics, logs

B.CPU, memory, disk

C.Events, users, sessions

D.Heap, stack, code

Explanation: OpenTelemetry supports traces, metrics, and logs as the core telemetry signals. All three share a common SDK model, resource attributes, and semantic conventions.

2In OpenTelemetry, what is a span?

A.A single operation within a trace, with start time, end time, attributes, and status

B.A log line

C.A metric histogram bucket

D.A network packet

Explanation: A span represents one unit of work in a distributed trace, including name, start/end timestamps, attributes, events, links, and status. Spans are connected by parent-child relationships within a trace.

3What is a trace?

A.A tree of spans representing one end-to-end request path through a system

B.A sequence of log lines

C.A group of metrics

D.A CPU flame graph

Explanation: A trace is the collection of spans sharing a trace_id. Spans form a parent-child tree capturing the causal structure of a distributed operation.

4Which OpenTelemetry primitive holds the current active span and baggage across async boundaries?

A.Context

B.Resource

C.Scope

D.Provider

Explanation: Context is the propagation carrier that threads active span, baggage, and other values through execution. It is passed explicitly or via language-specific implicit mechanisms.

5Which W3C standard does OpenTelemetry use by default to propagate trace context across HTTP calls?

A.W3C Trace Context (traceparent, tracestate)

B.B3 only

C.Jaeger only

D.OpenTracing

Explanation: The W3C Trace Context spec (traceparent and tracestate headers) is the default propagator in OpenTelemetry. B3 and Jaeger formats are available as additional propagators.

6What information is carried in a traceparent HTTP header?

A.version, trace-id, parent-id (span-id), and trace flags

B.API key and user-agent

C.Latency and error count

D.The span's attributes

Explanation: The traceparent format is: version-traceid-parentid-traceflags, e.g., 00-<32 hex>-<16 hex>-01. It identifies the trace and current span for downstream propagation.

7What is 'baggage' in OpenTelemetry?

A.Key-value pairs propagated alongside trace context for cross-service metadata

B.Attached log lines

C.Saved traces on disk

D.Retry configuration

Explanation: Baggage is propagated context metadata, carried via a separate W3C Baggage header. It is useful for flags like tenant or feature-gates, but should not carry secrets.

8Which OpenTelemetry concept describes the producer of telemetry (service, host, container, etc.)?

A.Resource

B.Scope

C.Instrument

D.Exemplar

Explanation: Resource is a set of attributes identifying the entity producing telemetry, e.g., service.name, service.version, host.name. Resources are attached to all emitted signals.

9Which attribute is required by the OpenTelemetry semantic conventions for the Resource of a service?

A.service.name

B.service.color

C.service.region_zone

D.service.owner_email

Explanation: service.name is required on every service Resource. Other helpful attributes (service.version, service.instance.id) are recommended but not required.

10Which span kind represents an operation processed on behalf of an incoming client request?

A.SERVER

B.CLIENT

C.PRODUCER

D.INTERNAL

Explanation: Span kind SERVER marks a span representing the synchronous server-side of an RPC, e.g., handling an inbound HTTP request.

About the OTCA Exam

The OpenTelemetry Certified Associate (OTCA) validates foundational skills in OpenTelemetry, the CNCF observability framework for generating and managing telemetry data such as metrics, logs, and traces. It is a remotely proctored multiple-choice exam covering the OpenTelemetry API and SDK, the Collector, observability fundamentals, and maintaining observability pipelines.

Assessment

60 multiple-choice questions

Time Limit

90 minutes

Passing Score

75%

Exam Fee

$250 (Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) / Linux Foundation)

OTCA Exam Content Outline

46%

The OpenTelemetry API and SDK

Signals (traces, metrics, logs), spans, context propagation, samplers, exporters, resource attributes, semantic conventions, and instrumentation libraries.

26%

The OpenTelemetry Collector

Receivers, processors, exporters, pipelines, agent vs gateway deployments, OTLP, and extensions.

18%

Fundamentals of Observability

Signals, sampling strategies, cardinality, cost, and comparing metrics, logs, and traces.

10%

Maintaining and Debugging Observability Pipelines

Collector health, backpressure, dropped data, pipeline troubleshooting, and scaling patterns.

How to Pass the OTCA Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: 75%
Assessment: 60 multiple-choice questions
Time limit: 90 minutes
Exam fee: $250

Keys to Passing

Complete 500+ practice questions
Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
Focus on highest-weighted sections
Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

OTCA Study Tips from Top Performers

1Spend the most time on the API/SDK domain because it is 46% of the exam.

2Know the three signals (traces, metrics, logs) and how each is represented in OpenTelemetry.

3Understand context propagation and the W3C trace context format.

4Be able to describe samplers: AlwaysOn, AlwaysOff, ParentBased, TraceIDRatioBased.

5Practice writing basic Collector configs with receivers, processors, exporters, and pipelines.

6Know the canonical OTLP ports: 4317 (gRPC) and 4318 (HTTP).

7Understand agent vs gateway Collector deployment patterns.

8Review semantic conventions vocabulary and resource attributes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the OTCA exam?

OTCA is a 60-question multiple-choice exam delivered online through a PSI proctored session. Candidates have 90 minutes to finish and results are emailed within 24 hours.

What score do you need to pass OTCA?

OTCA requires a score of 75% or higher to pass, consistent with other Linux Foundation multiple-choice certifications. You should target comfortably above 75% on timed practice sets before scheduling.

What are the official OTCA domain weights?

The current OTCA curriculum weights The OpenTelemetry API and SDK at 46%, The OpenTelemetry Collector at 26%, Fundamentals of Observability at 18%, and Maintaining and Debugging Observability Pipelines at 10%. Nearly half the exam is API/SDK focused, so you need solid grounding in signals, context propagation, samplers, and exporters.

Do I need to know OTLP for OTCA?

Yes. OTLP (the OpenTelemetry Protocol) is the canonical wire format for telemetry data and is central to both SDK exporters and Collector configuration. You should recognize OTLP gRPC and OTLP HTTP endpoints, default ports (4317 gRPC, 4318 HTTP), and when they appear in Collector pipelines.

How much does the OTCA exam cost?

The Linux Foundation lists OTCA at $250 for the exam only. A bundle with the THRIVE-ONE annual subscription is available at $495. Two exam attempts are included within the 12-month eligibility window.

How long should I study for OTCA?

Most candidates with prior observability experience prepare in 3 to 5 weeks with 25 to 40 focused study hours. Focus on the API and SDK domain first since it is almost half the exam, then layer in Collector configuration and observability fundamentals.