Which statement about bit depth and audio quality is correct?

Which statement about bit depth and audio quality is correct?

• A. Higher bit depth generally yields higher quality playback but larger file size.
• B. Higher bit depth reduces playback quality.
• C. Bit depth only affects video, not audio.
• D. Bit depth determines the sampling rate.

Answer: (A)

Bit depth is the number of bits used to represent each audio sample. More bits per sample give a finer, more precise representation of amplitude, which reduces quantization noise and increases dynamic range. That means audio can capture quieter details and louder peaks more accurately, resulting in higher quality playback. The trade-off is that using more bits per sample increases the amount of data, so file sizes and bandwidth requirements grow. The other statements don’t fit: bit depth does affect audio, not just video; it’s about how detailed each sample is, not about how often you sample per second (that latter issue is the sampling rate). Since higher bit depth doesn’t reduce quality, and it doesn’t set the sampling rate, those options aren’t correct.

Bit depth is the number of bits used to represent each audio sample. More bits per sample give a finer, more precise representation of amplitude, which reduces quantization noise and increases dynamic range. That means audio can capture quieter details and louder peaks more accurately, resulting in higher quality playback. The trade-off is that using more bits per sample increases the amount of data, so file sizes and bandwidth requirements grow.

The other statements don’t fit: bit depth does affect audio, not just video; it’s about how detailed each sample is, not about how often you sample per second (that latter issue is the sampling rate). Since higher bit depth doesn’t reduce quality, and it doesn’t set the sampling rate, those options aren’t correct.