Quick Answer
Amazon Athena is the correct choice because it enables serverless SQL queries directly on data stored in Amazon S3, including Parquet files, without requiring any infrastructure to provision or manage. This service leverages a distributed SQL engine that can efficiently scan compressed columnar formats like Parquet, reducing both query time and cost by reading only the necessary columns. On the AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty MLS-C01 exam, this question tests your understanding of which AWS service fits a specific serverless analytics use case, often appearing as a straightforward scenario where a data scientist needs ad-hoc querying without cluster management. A common trap is confusing Athena with Amazon Redshift Spectrum, which also queries S3 but requires an active Redshift cluster, or with AWS Glue, which is primarily for ETL and cataloging rather than direct querying. Remember the memory tip: “Athena is the serverless SQL hero for S3 data—no cluster, no fuss.”
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 data scientist needs to query a dataset stored as Parquet files in Amazon S3 using standard SQL without managing any infrastructure. Which service should they use?
Amazon Athena
Athena is serverless and supports SQL on S3.
Amazon QuickSight
Why wrong: QuickSight is a BI tool, not a query engine.
AWS Glue
Why wrong: Glue is for ETL jobs, not ad-hoc queries.
Amazon Redshift
Why wrong: Redshift is a data warehouse that requires provisioning and management.
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 Athena
Amazon Athena is serverless and allows SQL queries directly on S3 data. Redshift requires a cluster. Glue is for ETL. QuickSight is for visualization.
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 Athena
Why this is correct
Athena is serverless and supports SQL on S3.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon QuickSight
Why it's wrong here
QuickSight is a BI tool, not a query engine.
AWS Glue
Why it's wrong here
Glue is for ETL jobs, not ad-hoc queries.
Amazon Redshift
Why it's wrong here
Redshift is a data warehouse that requires provisioning and management.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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.
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FAQ
Data Engineering — This question tests Data Engineering — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon Athena — Amazon Athena is serverless and allows SQL queries directly on S3 data. Redshift requires a cluster. Glue is for ETL. QuickSight is for visualization.
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.
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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.
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