MS-DS Master of Data science FREE Master of Data science Big Data Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which distributed computing framework uses Resilient Distributed Datasets (RDDs) as its core data abstraction?
- Apache Spark (Correct answer)
- Apache Hadoop
- Apache Flink
- Apache Storm
Correct answer: Apache Spark
Apache Spark uses RDDs as its fundamental data structure for fault-tolerant parallel processing.
Question 2: In the context of big data, what does the term 'data lake' primarily refer to?
- A centralized repository storing raw data in its native format (Correct answer)
- A relational database optimized for analytics
- A cloud-based data warehouse with predefined schemas
- A real-time streaming data pipeline
Correct answer: A centralized repository storing raw data in its native format
A data lake stores vast amounts of raw data in its original format until it is needed for analysis.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of Apache Kafka in a big data architecture?
- Distributed event streaming and message brokering (Correct answer)
- Batch processing of large datasets
- In-memory caching of query results
- Schema management for data warehouses
Correct answer: Distributed event streaming and message brokering
Apache Kafka is designed as a distributed event streaming platform for high-throughput, real-time data pipelines.
Question 4: Which consistency model does the CAP theorem state cannot be fully achieved simultaneously with availability and partition tolerance?
- Strong consistency (Correct answer)
- Eventual consistency
- Causal consistency
- Read-your-writes consistency
Correct answer: Strong consistency
The CAP theorem states that a distributed system cannot simultaneously guarantee strong consistency, availability, and partition tolerance.
Question 5: What distinguishes columnar storage formats like Parquet from row-based storage in big data analytics?
- Columnar formats enable faster analytical queries by reading only relevant columns (Correct answer)
- Columnar formats store data in the order it was inserted for faster writes
- Columnar formats require less metadata than row-based formats
- Columnar formats cannot be compressed as efficiently as row-based formats
Correct answer: Columnar formats enable faster analytical queries by reading only relevant columns
Columnar storage reads only the columns needed for a query, dramatically reducing I/O for analytical workloads.
Question 6: In MapReduce, what operation occurs between the Map and Reduce phases?
- Shuffle and sort (Correct answer)
- Partition and replicate
- Compress and archive
- Index and cache
Correct answer: Shuffle and sort
The shuffle and sort phase transfers map output to reducers and sorts it by key so that identical keys are grouped together.
Which distributed computing framework uses Resilient Distributed Datasets (RDDs) as its core data abstraction?