DA0-002 Data Concepts and Environments Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are characteristics of a data lake?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse data lakes with data warehouses, assuming all enterprise data stores enforce ACID and schema-on-write, when in fact data lakes prioritize raw storage and schema flexibility.
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
✓
Retains raw data in native format
A data lake retains raw data in its native format, meaning data is ingested without transformation or schema enforcement. This allows storage of structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data as-is, preserving fidelity for future analytics. Unlike a data warehouse, a data lake does not require upfront schema definition, enabling flexible exploration and machine learning workloads.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Retains raw data in native format
Why this is correct
Data lakes store data as-is without transformation.
- ✗
Optimized for OLTP
Why it's wrong here
OLTP is typical of relational databases, not data lakes.
- ✗
Stores only structured data
Why it's wrong here
Data lakes store all types of data: structured, semi-structured, unstructured.
- ✗
Enforces ACID transactions
Why it's wrong here
ACID is enforced by relational databases, not data lakes.
- ✓
Uses schema-on-read
Why this is correct
Data lakes apply schema when reading data, preserving flexibility.
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