Which term describes shrinking by removing details?

• A. Lossy compression
• B. Data compression
• C. Lossless compression
• D. Sample resolution

Answer: (A)

When data is reduced by discarding some of its information, that is lossy compression. It shrinks the size by removing details that are less important or less perceptible, which means you can’t perfectly recover the original data. This is common in images and audio, where some loss is acceptable in exchange for a much smaller file; for example, JPEG reduces image size by discarding certain high-frequency details.

In contrast, data compression is a general term for making data smaller, not specifying whether any information is lost. Lossless compression also reduces size but preserves every bit of information, so the original data can be perfectly reconstructed. Sample resolution isn’t about discarding information to shrink size in the same way; it refers to how finely data is captured or sampled, which affects detail but isn’t the same process as removing content to compress.