Quick Answer
The answer is Amazon Kinesis Data Streams for ingestion and Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics for real-time trending detection. Kinesis Data Streams provides the durable, scalable ingestion layer needed to capture high-velocity social media feeds, while Kinesis Data Analytics runs SQL or Apache Flink-based queries on the stream to detect trending topics in real time, writing results directly to DynamoDB for low-latency access. On the AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty MLS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the distinction between real-time and near-real-time streaming services—a common trap is choosing Kinesis Data Firehose, which is near-real-time and lacks built-in analytics, or Amazon SQS, which is a message queue not designed for streaming. Remember the mnemonic “Stream and Analyze” to pair Kinesis Data Streams (ingest) with Kinesis Data Analytics (process) for true real-time streaming analytics.
This MLS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data engineering. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company is designing a data pipeline that ingests streaming data from social media feeds. The data must be processed in real-time to detect trending topics, and results must be stored in Amazon DynamoDB for low-latency access. Which services should the company use? (Choose TWO.)
Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
Why wrong: Firehose delivers data to destinations, not real-time analytics.
AWS Lambda
Why wrong: Lambda can process but not ideal for continuous real-time analytics.
Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)
Why wrong: SQS is for decoupling, not real-time streaming.
Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics
Provides real-time analytics to detect trending topics.
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams
Ingests high-throughput streaming data.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics
Option A (Kinesis Data Streams) is required for ingestion, and Option D (Kinesis Data Analytics) is required for real-time trending detection. Option B (SQS) is not for streaming. Option C (Lambda) can process but is not the best for real-time analytics on streams. Option E (Firehose) is near-real-time, not real-time.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose
Why it's wrong here
Firehose delivers data to destinations, not real-time analytics.
AWS Lambda
Why it's wrong here
Lambda can process but not ideal for continuous real-time analytics.
Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)
Why it's wrong here
SQS is for decoupling, not real-time streaming.
Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics
Why this is correct
Provides real-time analytics to detect trending topics.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon Kinesis Data Streams
Why this is correct
Ingests high-throughput streaming data.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Identify which MLS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Data Engineering — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Data Engineering practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All MLS-C01 questions
1,755 questions across all exam domains
AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty MLS-C01 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
MLS-C01 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to Data Engineering.
Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to Machine Learning Implementation and Operations.
Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to Modeling.
Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to Exploratory Data Analysis.
Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to MLS-C01 fundamentals.
Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to MLS-C01 scenario.
Practise MLS-C01 questions linked to MLS-C01 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Data Engineering — This question tests Data Engineering — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon Kinesis Data Analytics — Option A (Kinesis Data Streams) is required for ingestion, and Option D (Kinesis Data Analytics) is required for real-time trending detection. Option B (SQS) is not for streaming. Option C (Lambda) can process but is not the best for real-time analytics on streams. Option E (Firehose) is near-real-time, not real-time.
Identify which MLS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
This MLS-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the MLS-C01 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.