Which statement describes lossy data compression?

Which statement describes lossy data compression?

• A. a method to encrypt data
• B. a method to compress data that requires hardware acceleration
• C. data compression technique where the number of bits needed to store or transmit information is reduced, but the original data cannot be reconstructed
• D. data compression without any loss of information

Answer: (C)

Lossy data compression reduces the number of bits needed to represent information by discarding some data, so the original data cannot be perfectly reconstructed. This trade-off yields much smaller file sizes and is common with media like JPEG images or MP3 audio, where some quality loss is acceptable. It’s not about encryption, which hides data, nor about hardware acceleration, which is about speed or efficiency. It’s also not about lossless compression, which preserves every bit of the original data.

Lossy data compression reduces the number of bits needed to represent information by discarding some data, so the original data cannot be perfectly reconstructed. This trade-off yields much smaller file sizes and is common with media like JPEG images or MP3 audio, where some quality loss is acceptable. It’s not about encryption, which hides data, nor about hardware acceleration, which is about speed or efficiency. It’s also not about lossless compression, which preserves every bit of the original data.