IBM Data Science Professional Certificate

Question 1

Data Science

Answer 1

Data science uses math, statistics, programming, and tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, along with subject matter (knowledge of a specific field), to find useful information in an organization’s data. This information helps guide decisions and plan strategies.

Question 2

Process of uncovering insights from data

Answer 2

• Clarifying the problem
• Collecting the data
• Analyzing the data
• Recognizing patterns
• Storytelling based on the data
• Visualizing the data

Question 3

What is an algorithm?

Answer 3

A set of step-by-step instructions to solve a problem or complete a task.

Question 4

What is a model?

Answer 4

A representation of the relationships and patterns found in data to make predictions or analyze complex systems retaining essential elements needed for analysis.

Question 5

What are outliers?

Answer 5

When a data point or points occur significantly outside of most of the other data in a data set, potentially indicating anomalies, errors, or unique phenomena that could impact statistical analysis or modeling.

Question 6

What is quantitative analysis?

Answer 6

A systematic approach using mathematical and statistical analysis is used to interpret numerical data.

Question 7

What is structured data?

Answer 7

Data is organized and formatted into a predictable schema, usually related tables with rows and columns.

Question 8

What is unstructured data?

Answer 8

Unorganized data that lacks a predefined data model or organization making it harder to analyze using traditional methods. This data type often includes text, images, videos, and other content that doesn’t fit neatly into rows and columns like structured data.

Question 9

Data file type

Answer 9

A computer file configuration that is designed to store data in a specific way.

Question 10

Data format

Answer 10

How data is encoded so it can be stored within a data file type.

Question 11

Data visualization

Answer 11

A visual way, such as a graph, of representing data in a readily understandable way makes it easier to see trends in the data.

Question 12

Hadoop

Answer 12

An open-source framework designed to store and process large datasets across clusters of computers.

Question 13

Jupyter notebooks

Answer 13

A computational environment that allows users to create and share documents containing code, equations, visualizations, and explanatory text. See Python notebooks.

Question 14

Nearest neighbor

Answer 14

A machine learning algorithm that predicts a target variable based on its similarity to other values in the dataset.

Question 15

Neural networks

Answer 15

A computational model used in deep learning that mimics the structure and functioning of the human brain’s neural pathways. It takes an input, processes it using previous learning, and produces an output.

Question 16

Pandas

Answer 16

An open-source Python library that provides tools for working with structured data, often used for data manipulation and analysis.

Question 17

Python notebooks

Answer 17

Also known as a “Jupyter” notebook, this computational environment allows users to create and share documents containing code, equations, visualizations, and explanatory text.

Question 18

R

Answer 18

An open-source programming language used for statistical computing, data analysis, and data visualization.

Question 19

Recommendation engine

Answer 19

A computer program that analyzes user input, such as behaviors or preferences, and makes personalized recommendations based on that analysis.

Question 20

Regression

Answer 20

A statistical model that shows a relationship between one or more predictor variables with a response variable.

Question 21

Tabular data

Answer 21

Data that is organized into rows and columns.

Question 22

Delimited Text Files. Benefits and examples

Answer 22

They are plain text files where each line represents a record and values within a line are separated by a delimiter (for example a comma).
Delimited files are versatile, allowing field values of any length, and can be processed by nearly all applications.
CSV (Comma-Separated Values) and TSV (Tab-Separated Values) are the most common types.

Question 23

Extensible Markup Language (XML)

Answer 23

A markup language for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable.
Unlike HTML, XML uses custom tags and is designed for data sharing across different systems, making it platform and programming language independent.

Question 24

What is Microsoft Excel Open XML Spreadsheet (XLSX)?

Answer 24

• An XML-based file format for spreadsheets, consisting of multiple worksheets with rows and columns.
• Each cell in a worksheet can contain data. XLSX supports all Excel functions, is accessible by most applications, and is secure as it cannot contain malicious code.

Question 25

What is a Portable Document Format (PDF)?

Answer 25

• PDFs present documents in a consistent format across various software, hardware, and operating systems.
• This format is widely used for legal and financial documents and forms due to its universal compatibility and security features.

Question 26

What is JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)?

Answer 26

• A text-based format designed for transmitting structured data over the web.
• JSON is easy to read and write, works across many browsers, and is language-independent, making it ideal for data interchange, including APIs and web services that handle complex data types like audio and video.

Question 27

What is a Data Scientist?

Answer 27

Someone who solves problems by analyzing data (big or small) using appropriate tools and communicates findings effectively to stakeholders.

Question 28

What’s the difference between Data Science and Statistics?

Answer 28

In general, statistics is the study of numerical or quantitative data to make predictions or draw conclusions about a population. Data science is an applied subset of statistics that uses statistical methods to analyze large amounts of data and understand the results better.

Question 29

What is Digital Transformation?

Answer 29

The integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally altering how operations are conducted, and value is delivered. It is driven by Big Data analysis.

Question 30

What is cloud computing?

Answer 30

Cloud computing provides computing services on-demand via the Internet, offering a cost-effective way to access applications, storage, and more, without installing them locally.

Question 31

What are the three deployment models of cloud computing?

Answer 31

Public, private, and hybrid.

Question 32

What are the three service models of cloud computing?

Answer 32

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).

Question 33

What are the main features of cloud computing?

Answer 33

On-demand self-service, wide network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service.

Question 34

How does cloud computing change how businesses and individuals utilize technology?

Answer 34

It allows for scalable resources and applications based on a pay-as-you-go model.