Phase 4 · Gemini · Level 1 · Foundations
Gemini: Foundations Quiz · 10 min
Why it matters A quick check of your judgement before you move on. There's no penalty for a low score, and you can retake it, or take it first to test out of a level you already know.
These aren't trivia. They're the judgement calls you'll actually face using Gemini, Google's assistant. Pick the best option for each scenario, and you'll see an explanation after each one.
Passing this checkpoint: work through the level first, then score 70% or more here.
Skipping this level: already confident? Take this cold and score 80% or more to test out and jump ahead. Below that, nothing is lost, you just study the level as normal.
1. You open Gmail to try the 'Help me write' feature a colleague showed you, but there's no sign of it anywhere. What's the most likely explanation? Gmail is broken and you should reinstall it. Your Google account type or plan doesn't include the in-app Gemini features. It's a matter of what's switched on, not a fault. You must have typed something wrong. The feature has been removed for everyone. 2. You want to try Gemini but you're wary of paying for anything yet. What's the sensible first move? Buy a Google AI Ultra plan so you get everything at once. Start with the free Gemini app at gemini.google.com, which any Google account can open at no cost. Assume you can't use Gemini at all without paying. Sign up for a work account you don't actually have. 3. Gemini summarises a long email thread for you in three neat bullet points, and you're about to reply based on it. What's the wise habit? Reply straight from the summary. It looked thorough. Skim the actual thread against the summary first, in case Gemini misread or dropped a detail like a date. Ask Gemini 'are you sure?' and trust it if it says yes. Assume the summary is wrong and ignore it entirely. 4. You ask Gemini to draft a reply confirming a meeting, but you don't tell it the new time. What's likely to happen? Gemini will magically know the time from your calendar every time. It can only work with what it can see and what you tell it. If the time isn't in the email or your prompt, it may leave it out or guess. It will refuse to write anything at all. It will always stop and ask you for the time first. 5. You ask Gemini for a statistic to put in a work report. It gives a confident figure and a source link. What should you do? Use it straight away. It's a Google product, so it must be accurate. Open the link and check the figure against the source before relying on it. Trust the figure but drop the source to save space. Assume anything from Gemini is wrong and give up. 6. You've got a confidential Fernway contract on your personal Gmail and want Gemini to summarise it. What's the best approach? Paste it into your personal Gemini; it's quicker. Check whether your organisation has approved Gemini and on which account before putting confidential work data anywhere near a personal account. Ask Gemini to promise to keep it private, then go ahead. Assume any AI tool is fine for confidential documents. 7. A first draft from Gemini is a bit too formal for the friendly colleague you're writing to. What's the right next step? Send it anyway; the first draft is usually the best you'll get. Refine it in the same chat with a nudge like 'make it a bit more casual', then read it before sending. Start a brand-new chat and rewrite the whole prompt from scratch. Switch to a completely different tool. 8. Your prompt to Gemini is 'Write an email about the Harlow renewal' and the draft comes back bland and generic. What's the actual problem? Gemini isn't capable of writing business emails. The prompt gave it no reader, no facts and no format, so it had nothing specific to aim at. You need a paid plan before prompts like this work. You should send the same prompt again and hope for better. 9. A friend on a work Workspace account says Gemini is brilliant inside Google Docs, but on your personal account you don't see the same features. How should you think about it? One of you must be using Gemini wrong. Gemini's in-app features differ by account and plan, so you can see different things; the free app is the steady common ground. Your friend is exaggerating; those features don't really exist. The features are identical for everyone, so you're looking in the wrong place forever. 10. 30-second recall: Which of these is safe to type into your free, personal Gemini app? Your online banking password, so it can help you log in. A colleague's National Insurance number, to check a form is filled in correctly. A rough draft of a wedding speech you would like help improving. A confidential internal pricing strategy, on your personal account. Answered 0 of 10.
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