I would reason it this way. Not E because it's a hidden parameter. Not B because analyze is bad. So, A, C, or D. Further: Oracle typically steers the standard DBA away from "manually" setting anything with each new release. So, I throw out A. Now, either C or D. Finally: Oracle also likes to keep default at default with each new release - If too many people are changing the same value consistently then they did a poor job configuring that value, so I'd say that the Oracle's "preferred" answer is C. Chris Taylor Sr. Oracle DBA Ingram Barge Company Nashville, TN 37205 Office: 615-517-3355 Cell: 615-663-1673 Email: chris.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:chris.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and may also be privileged. If you are not the named recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete the contents of this message without disclosing the contents to anyone, using them for any purpose, or storing or copying the information on any medium. From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Robert Freeman Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 9:17 AM To: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Todays Oracle 11.2.0.2 quiz... Without looking in the docs, answer this question: When collecting Oracle statistics in 11.2.0.2 (generally, there are always fringe cases) you should: A. Manually set the sample size and not take the default. B. Use the analyze command. C. Use the default value for the sample size. D. Use a sample size between 10 and 20. E. Set the _optimizer_stats_modify parameter first to a value of 60. What is your answer and why? RF Robert G. Freeman Master Principal Consultant, Oracle Corporation, Oracle ACE Author of various books on RMAN, New Features and this shorter signature line. Blog: http://robertgfreeman.blogspot.com Note: THIS EMAIL IS NOT AN OFFICIAL ORACLE SUPPORT COMMUNICATION. It is just the opinion of one Oracle employee. I can be wrong, have been wrong in the past and will be wrong in the future. If your problem is a critical production problem, you should always contact Oracle support for assistance. Statements in this email in no way represent Oracle Corporation or any subsidiaries and reflect only the opinion of the author of this email.