Which extension is commonly used for photographs and uses lossy compression?

Which extension is commonly used for photographs and uses lossy compression?

• A. .png
• B. .jpg
• C. .bmp
• D. .gif

Answer: (B)

Lossy compression reduces image data by discarding some detail, which helps keep photo file sizes small while still looking good to the human eye. The extension that fits this approach and is commonly used for photographs is .jpg. JPEG compresses photos by selectively reducing detail and color information, allowing much smaller files with minimal perceived loss, especially at moderate quality settings. In contrast, .png uses lossless compression, preserving every pixel and edges but resulting in larger files; .bmp is often uncompressed or lightly compressed, producing very large images; and .gif uses a limited color palette (256 colors) and is suited to simple graphics or animations, not rich photographs.

Lossy compression reduces image data by discarding some detail, which helps keep photo file sizes small while still looking good to the human eye. The extension that fits this approach and is commonly used for photographs is .jpg. JPEG compresses photos by selectively reducing detail and color information, allowing much smaller files with minimal perceived loss, especially at moderate quality settings. In contrast, .png uses lossless compression, preserving every pixel and edges but resulting in larger files; .bmp is often uncompressed or lightly compressed, producing very large images; and .gif uses a limited color palette (256 colors) and is suited to simple graphics or animations, not rich photographs.