This post is a part of the PL-300: Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Exam Prep Hub; and this topic falls under these sections:
Prepare the data (25–30%)
   --> Profile and clean the data
      --> Evaluate Data including Data Statistics & Column Properties

Below are 10 practice questions (with answers and explanations) for this topic of the exam.
There are also 2 practice tests for the PL-300 exam with 60 questions each (with answers) available on the hub.

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Practice Questions

Question 1

Which Power Query feature helps you quickly identify null, error, and valid values in a column?

A. Column distribution
B. Column profile
C. Column quality
D. Data type detection

✅ Correct Answer: C

Explanation:
Column quality visually shows the percentage of valid, error, and empty (null) values in a column.

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Question 2

You want to understand how often each value appears in a categorical column. Which tool should you use?

A. Column quality
B. Column distribution
C. Column profile
D. Default summarization

✅ Correct Answer: B

Explanation:
Column distribution displays value frequency and helps identify duplicates or unexpected values.

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Question 3

Which Power Query tool provides statistics such as minimum, maximum, and average values?

A. Column quality
B. Column distribution
C. Column profile
D. Data view

✅ Correct Answer: C

Explanation:
Column profile provides detailed statistical information for numeric and date columns.

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Question 4

A numeric column cannot be aggregated in a visual because it is treated as text. What should you evaluate first?

A. Column distribution
B. Column format
C. Column data type
D. Default summarization

✅ Correct Answer: C

Explanation:
Incorrect data types prevent aggregation. The data type should be corrected before formatting or summarization.

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Question 5

Which setting determines how a numeric column behaves by default when added to a visual?

A. Column profile
B. Data type
C. Column format
D. Default summarization

✅ Correct Answer: D

Explanation:
Default summarization controls whether a numeric column sums, averages, counts, or does not summarize.

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Question 6

When should data evaluation and profiling primarily take place?

A. In Report view
B. In Model view
C. In Power Query Editor
D. In the Power BI Service

✅ Correct Answer: C

Explanation:
Data profiling and evaluation are performed in Power Query before data is loaded into the model.

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Question 7

You suspect a column contains unexpected negative values. Which feature helps confirm this?

A. Column quality
B. Column distribution
C. Column profile
D. Column format

✅ Correct Answer: C

Explanation:
Column profile provides min/max statistics, making it ideal for detecting invalid ranges.

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Question 8

Which column property affects how values are displayed but not how they are calculated?

A. Data type
B. Column format
C. Column profile
D. Default summarization

✅ Correct Answer: B

Explanation:
Formatting controls visual appearance (currency, percentage, date format) but does not affect calculations.

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Question 9

A column shows a high percentage of error values during evaluation. What is the most likely implication?

A. The column has duplicate values
B. The column contains invalid or incompatible data
C. The column is incorrectly summarized
D. The column has incorrect formatting

✅ Correct Answer: B

Explanation:
Error values typically indicate issues such as invalid conversions or incompatible data types.

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Question 10

Which pairing of Power Query tools and purpose is correct?

A. Column quality → value frequency analysis
B. Column distribution → identifying null values
C. Column profile → statistical analysis
D. Column format → detecting outliers

✅ Correct Answer: C

Explanation:
Column profile is used for statistical analysis, including min, max, and average values.

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Exam Readiness Check ✅

You’re well prepared for this PL-300 topic if you can:

• Distinguish between column quality, distribution, and profile
• Identify which tool answers which question
• Understand how column properties affect modeling and visuals
• Recognize that data evaluation happens before modeling

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