Associate Developer for Apache Spark: practice questions
DataFrame semantics are exactly what an execution-verified bank is best at: every one of these questions ran on Spark, and the answer key is the engine's own output.
Spark Developer Associate set
15 questions, drawn fresh from the bank. Every code question was executed on Spark before it shipped, and each answer links to the documentation it rests on.
No account needed to practise. Sign in to keep your best score per set, see progress on your account page, and turn wrong answers into a reading list.
A sample question, with the answer
What does this print?
df = spark.createDataFrame([(1,), (None,)], ["x"])
print(df.filter(df.x != 1).count())- a1
- b0correct
- c2
- dIt throws an AnalysisException
Why: NULL != 1 evaluates to NULL, not true, and a filter keeps only rows where the predicate is true. The NULL row is dropped, the row with 1 fails the predicate, and the count is 0. Null semantics questions like this decide real exam points.
Exam facts
Facts reflect the official materials at our last review; exams change, so verify against the official page before booking.
Prep with the AI assistant you already use
Databricks’ recommended prep flow now includes an official AI Prep Guide of copy-paste prompts. Here is ours, tuned to this exam. Paste it into any assistant, or ask the Brickster Assistant, which answers with citations from this archive.
I am preparing for the Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark exam. Quiz me with 10 original multiple-choice questions in the style of that exam, one at a time, across these areas: spark. Never reuse real exam content. Do not show the answer until I respond. After each answer, explain why, and ground the explanation in docs.databricks.com. Keep score. At the end, list my weakest areas and what to read for each.
Go deeper on the weak spots
Each topic below has a live page with an AI synthesis of recent activity and the items behind it. Wrong answers in the set above link to these too.
Frequently asked
How many questions is the Spark Developer Associate exam?
45 scored questions in 90 minutes, per the official exam guide (October 2025 version). It costs $200 and the credential is valid for two years. All code in the exam is Python or SQL, and Databricks does not publish the passing score.
Is the Spark Developer Associate exam hard?
The traps are mostly semantics: null comparisons, lazy evaluation, narrow versus wide transformations, and what actually executes when. Rote API memorisation fails here, which is why our questions are behaviour questions with the engine's real output as the key.
Are these real exam questions?
No. Every question is original, and each code question was executed on Apache Spark before publication, with the engine version shown next to the answer.
brickster.ai is an independent community project, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Databricks, Inc. Nothing here is drawn from real exam content, and no practice result predicts a certification outcome.