MLS-C01 Modeling Practice Question
A company's machine learning model is overfitting to the training data. The data scientist has already tried reducing the model complexity and adding regularization, but the model still overfits. Which technique could the data scientist use to further reduce overfitting?
⚠ Common exam trap
The MLS-C01 exam often tests the misconception that hyperparameter tuning (e.g., batch size, learning rate) is a primary cure for overfitting, when in fact these parameters primarily affect optimization dynamics, not the fundamental data scarcity or memorization issue that data augmentation directly addresses.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use data augmentation to increase the training dataset size
Data augmentation artificially increases the size and diversity of the training dataset by applying transformations (e.g., rotations, flips, noise injection) to existing samples. This exposes the model to more varied examples, reducing its tendency to memorize noise and improving generalization — directly countering overfitting when other methods have failed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use data augmentation to increase the training dataset size
Why this is correct
Data augmentation creates more training examples, which helps the model generalize better and reduces overfitting.
- ✗
Decrease the batch size
Why it's wrong here
Smaller batch sizes introduce noise but are not a primary method to reduce overfitting.
- ✗
Increase the number of training epochs
Why it's wrong here
More epochs can lead to overfitting if the model memorizes the training data.
- ✗
Increase the learning rate
Why it's wrong here
Increasing the learning rate can destabilize training and may not reduce overfitting.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.