A00-215 Practice Exam Questions with Answers SAS Certified Associate: Programming Fundamentals Using SAS 9.4 Certification

In the provided code snippet, Line 3 contains a syntax error. The keep statement is used incorrectly here; the correct keyword to use is where in order to filter the dataset. The correct line should be something like:

where Make = 'Honda';

So, the keep statement on Line 3 is not properly used, and also there appears to be a missing quotation mark at the end of 'Honda' which should be closed before the semicolon.

References:

• SAS documentation for the where statement.

The type of error that does not produce expected results and does not generate errors or warnings in the log is a logic error. Logic errors occur when there is a flaw in the program's logic, which causes it to operate incorrectly, but the syntax is correct so it does not produce any error or warning messages. Unlike syntax errors which are mistakes in the program's code that prevent it from compiling or running, logic errors are more insidious because the program still runs but yields incorrect results. For example, a programmer may accidentally code an incorrect formula or use a wrong variable name that still exists, so the program runs but produces incorrect output.

References:

• SAS documentation on error types.

When defining custom formats in SAS, it's important to adhere to the correct syntax, which includes ending format names with a period. In the submitted program, the format $convert is defined without a period at the end of the format name in the VALUE statement. This is likely causing an error since format names in the VALUE statement should always end with a period. Option C correctly identifies that adding a period to the end of the format name on the VALUE statement will allow SAS to properly recognize and apply the custom format to the Answer variable when the PROC PRINT step is executed.

The program provided in the question seems to have formatting errors, but based on the information provided, the suggested change is to add a period to make it $convert. which would correctly apply the format.

The other options would not resolve the issue of applying the custom format:

• A. Changing the case of the unformatted values will not help if the format is not correctly specified.
• B. The comma does not seem to be the issue based on the context given.
• D. The dollar sign is correct and necessary for character formats; removing it would cause the format to be invalid for character data.

References:

• SAS 9.4 documentation for the FORMAT procedure: SAS Help Center: PROC FORMAT

The correct syntax for the CONTENTS procedure is to specify the dataset to be described using the data= option. The dataset should be identified by its library and name, separated by a period. The correct syntax is therefore Proc contents data=library.dataset;, which makes Option C the correct answer: Proc contents data=sashelp.shoes;. This statement will produce the contents of the dataset 'shoes' in the 'sashelp' library.

References:

• SAS documentation on the CONTENTS procedure, SAS Institute.

The error messages in the SAS log indicate issues with the treatment of text as a character string. In SAS, character strings must be enclosed in quotation marks. The log shows that 'ABC Inc.' is treated as if it is a variable or an expression, which is causing a syntax error. Enclosing 'ABC Inc.' in quotation marks will correctly identify it as a character string. Therefore, Option B is the correct action to resolve the error messages. This error is evident as the log indicates it was expecting an arithmetic operator, which suggests that the text was misinterpreted as part of an expression.

References:

• SAS documentation on character strings and data step options, SAS Institute.

The correct answer is B. The set statement in SAS can concatenate multiple datasets together. The AMERICAN and NATIONAL datasets appear to have the same structure and variables, so the set statement without any options will combine them into one dataset called BASEBALL. The order of the datasets in the set statement determines the order of the observations in the output dataset, and since there is no variable that needs renaming to match between the two datasets, option B is the correct answer.

References:

• SAS documentation on the set statement.

The FORCAST dataset is created from the INVEST dataset, which has 10 observations as seen in the PROC PRINT report. For each observation in INVEST, three new observations are added in FORCAST, one for each year's balance calculation (year=1, year=2, year=3). This is achieved by the output; statement after each balance calculation, which writes the current state of the data step to a new row in the dataset. Therefore, since there are 10 original observations, and each leads to three new observations, the total number of observations in the FORCAST dataset will be 30 (10 observations from INVEST multiplied by 3 years each).

References:

• SAS documentation on the DATA step and output statement, SAS Institute.

In SAS, the DATA step is a powerful tool that allows programmers to perform a variety of tasks such as reporting, managing, and analyzing data. The DATA step processes data one observation at a time, making it highly efficient for data manipulation tasks. It enables the creation of new datasets, modification of existing ones, and complex data transformations. Additionally, within a DATA step, you can use a wide range of programming statements and functions to calculate new variables, merge or sort datasets, and perform conditional processing. The flexibility and functionality provided by DATA steps make them a fundamental part of SAS programming for handling and preparing data for further analysis or reporting.References: SAS 9.4 Language Reference: Concepts.

The correct answer is B: The XLSX engine can read and write data in Microsoft Excel workbooks. This functionality allows SAS users to directly access and manipulate data stored in Excel files using the .xlsx extension. The XLSX engine does not automatically concatenate individual worksheets; instead, each worksheet is accessed separately. Also, it specifically works with files that have the .xlsx extension, not the older .xls format, thus eliminating option C. Option D is incorrect because the XLSX engine requires the correct file extension (.xlsx) in the LIBNAME statement to properly identify and interact with Excel files.References:

• SAS documentation on LIBNAME statement for XLSX engine: SAS Support: LIBNAME Statement

The report shown in the image is a two-way frequency table generated by the PROC FREQ procedure which shows the frequency and percentage distribution of two categorical variables. The correct answer is option B:

• proc freq data=cars; tells SAS to use the PROC FREQ procedure on the dataset cars.
• tables make*drivetrain; requests the frequency table for the cross of make and drivetrain. The asterisk (*) denotes a two-way table of the two categorical variables.
• run; indicates the end of the proc freq step.

The resulting table in the output has the statistics for Make broken down by Drivetrain category, which matches the structure seen in the provided image.

Options A, C, and D do not correctly request the two-way table of make by drivetrain. Specifically, C and D reverse the order, which would change the orientation of the table in the output, and A is missing the asterisk (*) which is needed for the cross-tabulation of the two variables.

References:

• SAS 9.4 documentation for the PROC FREQ statement: SAS Help Center: PROC FREQ

The correct syntax for creating an Excel workbook using the ODS (Output Delivery System) Excel destination with a specific style is provided by option D. The syntax is as follows: ods excel file='c:\report.xlsx' style=analysis;This statement instructs SAS to output the results of subsequent procedures to an Excel workbook located at c:\report.xlsx, applying the ANALYSIS style to the output. The file= option specifies the path and name of the Excel file to be created or overwritten, and the style= option indicates the style template to be used for the output. The ANALYSIS style is one of the predefined styles that can be applied to the output to control the appearance of tables and graphs. Other options like A) and B) are incorrect due to syntax errors and misplacement of keywords. Option C) has a typo in the file path and incorrect syntax usage.References: SAS 9.4 Output Delivery System: User's Guide.

In the provided program, there are six distinct SAS statements:

• data FemaleStudents; - Data step beginning
• set sashelp.Class; - Set statement
• where Sex="F"; - Where statement
• Classroom="Red Room"; - Assignment statement
• run; - Run statement to execute the data step
• title "Female Students in Red Room"; - Title statement

Note that the proc print and the second run; statement are part of another PROC step to print the results and hence are not counted in this particular count. The final title; statement is used to clear the title setting and does not count as part of the program statements being asked about.

References:

• SAS 9.4 Language Reference: Concepts, "DATA Step"
• SAS documentation on "TITLE Statement"

The correct syntax for creating two separate data sets based on a condition in SAS involves using a single DATA step with multiple data set names followed by a SET statement and conditional OUTPUT statements. Here's a breakdown of why option B is the correct answer:

data SUV Sedans;

set sashelp.cars;

if Type = 'SUV' then output SUV;

else if Type = 'Sedan' then output Sedans;

run;

• This option correctly uses a single DATA step to declare two data sets (SUV and Sedans). It reads from the sashelp.cars data set and uses conditional statements to output observations to the respective data sets based on the value of the Type variable. The output statement is used to explicitly direct observations to the specified data set.
• Option A: The syntax data=SUV data=Sedans; is incorrect. The correct syntax to create multiple data sets in a DATA step does not include equal signs (=).
• Option C: The syntax within the conditional statements is incorrect (if Type = SUV and if Type = Sedan). The values for Type should be enclosed in quotes to specify that they are strings.
• Option D: The syntax data= (SUV Sedans) ; is incorrect. The correct method to declare multiple data sets in a DATA step does not use parentheses or an equal sign.

References:The correctness of option B is based on standard SAS programming practices for conditional data manipulation within a DATA step. This approach is commonly documented in SAS programming resources such as the SAS 9.4 documentation and various SAS programming guides. The use of the output statement for directing data to specific datasets based on conditions is a fundamental technique in efficient data handling in SAS.

To create SAS date values, the correct syntax involves specifying the date in a string format followed by the letter 'd'. This indicates to SAS that the string should be interpreted as a date value. Therefore, the correct answers are:

• A. "10/19/2019"d - This format directly specifies the month, day, and year, enclosed in quotes followed by 'd', which SAS correctly interprets as a date value.
• C. "19Oct2019"d - This format uses a three-letter abbreviation for the month combined with the day and year, also followed by 'd'. This is another valid way to specify a date in SAS.

Option B, mdy(10, 19, 2019), is incorrect because while the MDY function does create date values from month, day, and year components, the function itself should be used within a DATA step or another context where SAS functions are evaluated, and it doesn't directly create a date literal in the same way as options A and C.

Option D, mdy(19, Oct, 2019), is syntactically incorrect because the MDY function expects numeric arguments for the month, day, and year, and "Oct" as a literal month name is not a valid numeric argument.

References: SAS 9.4 Language Reference: Concepts.

Option C is correct. The set statement is used within a DATA step to read an existing SAS data set. In this case, set sashelp.shoes; reads the SASHELP.SHOES data set, and data work.total; specifies the creation of a new data set named TOTAL in the WORK library. The options A, B, and D are incorrect because they either use the wrong syntax or are not proper statements for reading an input data set and creating an output data set.

References:

• SAS 9.4 documentation on the DATA step.

In SAS, iterative DO statements are used to repeat a block of statements a specified number of times. These DO statements have a specific syntax that includes initializing a variable, setting an ending value, and specifying an increment (or decrement). The syntax generally follows the pattern: DO variable = start TO end BY increment;

Let’s evaluate each option provided:

A) Do 100 to 1200 by 100;This statement is syntactically incorrect because it lacks a variable to iterate over. An iterative DO loop must specify a variable that will take on each value in the specified range. The correct form should be something like do i = 100 to 1200 by 100;.

B) Do num = 1.1 to 1.9 by 0.1;This statement is valid. It initializes the variable num at 1.1 and increments by 0.1 until it reaches 1.9. This is a typical use of the iterative DO loop for non-integer increments.

C) Do year = 2000 to 2016 by 2;This statement is also valid. It initializes year at 2000 and increments by 2, going through values like 2002, 2004, etc., up to and including 2016. This is a standard use for iterating over years or other sequentially numbered items.

D) Do reverse = 10 to 1 by -1;This statement is valid. It initializes reverse at 10 and decrements by 1 until it reaches 1. Using negative increments is a legitimate approach for counting downwards.

References

• SAS 9.4 Statements: Reference, "DO Statement."
• SAS Support: DO Loop Documentation

Understanding how to properly format DO loops in SAS is fundamental for effectively managing repetitive tasks in your data analysis. Mistakes like those seen in option A can lead to syntax errors, preventing your code from executing. Always ensure that your loops are correctly structured and that each component of the loop is clearly defined.

The type and length of SnackType are character and 7, which makes option B correct. In the provided program, SnackType is assigned a value of "Chips" which is a character string. The length statement is used to explicitly declare SnackType as a character variable with a length of 7 before it is used, which will take precedence over any later assignments or implications about the variable's type or length.

References:

• SAS documentation on variable length.

The correct syntax for generating the mean and standard deviation for specified variables using PROC MEANS is shown in option A. The PROC MEANS statement specifies the dataset to analyze (data=class) and includes the options (mean std) directly in the PROC statement. The VAR statement then lists the variables for which the statistics should be calculated (Height and Weight). The other options listed in B, C, and D are not correct syntax for PROC MEANS.