What are two ways a Scrum Master serves to enable effective Scrum Teams?
There is a choice to select the best answers between ..
"By starting and ending the meetings at the proper time."
and
"By removing impediments that hinder the Scrum Team."
.. and only the latter is marked as the correct answer by scrum.org
The Scrum Guide states on Page 6:
"The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team in several ways, including:
- ..
- Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team’s progress; and,
- Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox."
- ..
Now how should we know that the accountability of removing impediments superseeds the accountability of keeping meetings timeboxed?
It's Scrum events which we know are timeboxed.
Bear in mind that the Daily Scrum does not require a Scrum Master to even be there in the first place.
Now how should we know that the accountability of removing impediments superseeds the accountability of keeping meetings timeboxed?
By starting and ending the meetings at the proper time - This option seems to indicate that the Scrum master is setting up these meetings and driving the whole thing and that is not right as per Scrum. As Ian mentioned the Scrum master need not even be there in the daily scrum. He needs to be there in all the other events and needs to ensure meetings happen in the most productive way within the timebox. The only reason this option is false is because it is not necessary that the Scrum master set these meetings up (he could do that for some time till the team matures and understands the purpose behind the events).
On the other hand, removing impediments that come in the way for the Scrum team is a responsibility of the Scrum master.
To add to this...
Scrum.org exams are very much focused on Professional Scrum. Anti-pattern or mechanical Scrum traps may be used in questions to help reinforce what is and isn't Professional Scrum. Meeting management is not part of Professional Scrum or the Scrum Master accountability.
There was language change in the 2020 version of the Scrum Guide associated to how a Scrum Master serves a team. Previously the term "servant-leader" was used and at times was interpreted as the Scrum Master being the team servant. Someone who sets up meetings, acts as scribe, operates Jira or <insert backlog tool here>, buys coffee etc. This language has changed to recognize and reinforce Scrum Masters as "true leaders who serve".
If one of the options was "Ensuring that all Scrum events take place and are positive, productive, and kept within the timebox." it would be valid. Ian already called out the difference between events and meetings. I will add that when it comes to events, it may take leadership to show the way, to guide on why it is important for events to take place, to coach the team in finding ways for their events to be positive and productive and so on. This is very different from starting and stopping meetings.