Stopped EC2 vs Terminated

[jgofaws]

Hello,
in the section Based regarding cost questions, this question is at least confusing but I would say actually wrong:

https://portal.tutorialsdojo.com/courses/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-practice-exams/lessons/practice-exams-section-based-4/quizzes/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-practice-exam-section-based-design-cost-optimized-architectures/
It is said that “there is no charge for a stopped EC2 instance that you have shut down.”
This is wrong because a stopped instance is not “shut down”. A Terminated Instance is “shut down” and incur no cost because associated EBS volumes are deleted. While associated volumes for stopped instance are not deleted.

Section-Based – Design Cost-Optimized Architectures (SA-Associate)

[Irene-TutorialsDojo]

Hello jgofaws,

Thank you for your feedback and for pointing out the important distinction regarding stopped and terminated EC2 instances.

We have reviewed and updated the explanation in our practice exam to clarify this. According to the latest AWS documentation, when an EC2 instance is stopped, AWS does not charge for compute resources because the instance is not running. However, the attached EBS volumes continue to incur storage charges since the data remains allocated.

On the other hand, when an instance is terminated, the instance and its attached volumes (unless configured otherwise) are deleted, and no further charges apply.

Our updated explanation now clearly reflects that stopped instances do not incur compute charges, but their EBS storage does, ensuring an accurate understanding of AWS billing.

Hope this helps!

Best,

Irene @ Tutorials Dojo

[jgofaws]

Thank you for your answer.
I would say their would need to change the choices of answers.
Talking about a stopped state without mentioning EBS imho is confusing it is a whole subject. Their should be no answer choice talking just about EC2 instance state.
What could be done:
– one answer about a stopped state EC2 instance without an EBS volume

– one answer about a stopped state EC2 instance with an EBS volume

– one answer about a Terminated state EC2 instance

Ambiguity is gone.

Regards

[Irene-TutorialsDojo]

Hi jgofaws,

Thank you for your feedback. I understand your concern about the ambiguity of the stopped EC2 instance state, especially without mentioning EBS volumes. We will clarify this by separating the options into more distinct scenarios, such as a stopped EC2 instance with and without an attached EBS volume, and a terminated EC2 instance. This will make the question easier to understand and more accurate in identifying costs. This update will reflect to the portal soon.

Thanks again for your input, and feel free to reach out if you have further suggestions.

Best,

Irene @ Tutorials Dojo