Single Choice Question

The single choice question resource creates multiple choice questions with one correct answer. Users select from a list of options that includes the correct answer and distractors.

Use Cases

As a lab author, you use single choice questions to assess specific knowledge:

Concept Verification: Test understanding of key concepts, definitions, and terminology with clear right/wrong answers
Best Practice Assessment: Evaluate knowledge of industry standards, recommended approaches, or proper procedures
Tool Recognition: Test identification of correct tools, commands, or configuration options for specific scenarios

Single choice questions are ideal for testing concrete knowledge where there is one clearly correct answer among plausible alternatives.

HCL Syntax

Basic Syntax

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resource "single_choice_question" "name" {
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  question = "What is the capital of France?"
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  answer   = "Paris"
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  distractors = [
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    "Berlin",
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    "London",
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    "Madrid"
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  ]
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}

Full Syntax

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resource "single_choice_question" "name" {
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  question = "Which container orchestration platform is developed by Google?"
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  answer   = "Kubernetes"
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  distractors = [
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    "Docker Swarm",
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    "Apache Mesos",
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    "Nomad"
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  ]
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  hints = [
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    "This platform was originally called Borg internally at Google",
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    "The name comes from the Greek word for helmsman"
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  ]
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  tags = ["kubernetes", "containers", "orchestration"]
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}

Fields

Core Configuration

single_choice_question

Field	Required	Type	Description
`question`	✓	string	The question text presented to users
`answer`	✓	string	The correct answer option
`distractors`	✓	list(string)	Incorrect answer options presented alongside the correct answer
`hints`		list(string)	Hints shown to users when hints are enabled. Defaults to empty list.
`tags`		list(string)	Tags for categorizing and organizing questions. Defaults to empty list.

Validation Rules

Answer uniqueness: The correct answer must not appear in the distractors list
Minimum options: Must have at least 2 total options (answer + distractors)
Maximum options: Recommended maximum of 5-6 total options for usability
Question clarity: Questions should be clear and unambiguous

Examples

Basic Geography Question

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resource "single_choice_question" "geography_basic" {
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  question = "What is the capital of Japan?"
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  answer   = "Tokyo"
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  distractors = [
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    "Osaka",
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    "Kyoto",
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    "Hiroshima"
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  ]
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}

Technical Knowledge Question

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resource "single_choice_question" "docker_concepts" {
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  question = "Which Docker command is used to create and start a new container?"
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  answer   = "docker run"
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  distractors = [
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    "docker start",
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    "docker create",
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    "docker exec"
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  ]
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  tags = ["docker", "containers", "commands"]
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}

Question with Hints

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resource "single_choice_question" "networking_advanced" {
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  question = "Which HTTP status code indicates a successful request?"
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  answer   = "200"
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  distractors = [
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    "404",
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    "500",
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    "302"
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  ]
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  hints = [
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    "This is a 2xx status code",
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    "It's the most common success status code"
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  ]
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  tags = ["http", "networking", "status-codes"]
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}

Multiple Questions for a Quiz

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resource "single_choice_question" "kubernetes_basic" {
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  question = "What is the smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes?"
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  answer   = "Pod"
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  distractors = [
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    "Container",
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    "Node",
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    "Service"
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  ]
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  tags = ["kubernetes", "concepts"]
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}
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resource "single_choice_question" "kubernetes_storage" {
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  question = "Which Kubernetes resource provides persistent storage?"
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  answer   = "PersistentVolume"
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  distractors = [
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    "ConfigMap",
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    "Secret",
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    "EmptyDir"
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  ]
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  tags = ["kubernetes", "storage"]
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}

Design Guidelines

Question Writing

Clear and Specific: Write questions that test specific knowledge
Avoid Ambiguity: Ensure only one answer is clearly correct
Appropriate Difficulty: Match question difficulty to learning objectives
Real-world Relevance: Use practical scenarios when possible

Answer Options

Plausible Distractors: Make incorrect options believable but clearly wrong
Consistent Format: Keep all options in the same format (length, style)
Avoid “All of the above”: This can make questions too easy or confusing
Random Order: Options are automatically shuffled during presentation

Hints and Explanations

Progressive Hints: Order hints from general to specific
Educational Value: Use explanations to reinforce learning
Concise Content: Keep hints and explanations brief but informative
Avoid Giving Away: Don’t make hints too obvious

Usage in Quizzes

Single choice questions are referenced in quiz resources:

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resource "quiz" "fundamentals" {
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  questions = [
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    resource.single_choice_question.geography_basic,
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    resource.single_choice_question.docker_concepts,
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    resource.single_choice_question.networking_advanced
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  ]
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  show_hints = true
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  attempts   = 2
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}

Best Practices

Balanced Difficulty: Mix easy, medium, and hard questions
Logical Grouping: Use tags to organize related questions
Quality Distractors: Include options that test common misconceptions
Learning Reinforcement: Use explanations to strengthen understanding
Testing Strategy: Test understanding, not memorization
Accessibility: Ensure questions work for diverse learning styles
Review and Iterate: Test questions with real learners and refine based on feedback