Which statement best describes HTTP status codes 404 and 500?

• A. 404 means resource not found; 500 means server error
• B. 404 means unauthorized; 500 means timeout
• C. 404 means forbidden; 500 means bad gateway
• D. 404 means bad request; 500 means conflict

Answer: (A)

These codes are part of the HTTP status code system that tells a client why a request didn’t succeed. A 404 indicates the server can’t find the requested resource—essentially, the URL doesn’t map to anything on the server. A 500 signals an internal server error, meaning something went wrong on the server side while trying to fulfill the request. It’s a generic message for server-side failures, not due to the client’s request.

The other options mix up meanings (for example, codes that relate to authorization, forbidden access, or different failure types), so they don’t accurately describe these two codes.