In object-oriented programming, the term for a class that extends another class?

• A. A base class
• B. A utility class
• C. A derived class
• D. A mediator class

Answer: (C)

Inheritance in object-oriented programming defines relationships between classes. When a class extends another, the extending class is called a derived class. It inherits members from the base class and can add new features or override existing behavior to specialize its functionality. In many languages, the keyword extends signals this relationship.

The base class (also called the superclass) is the one being extended, not the one doing the extending. The other terms described don’t describe this specific relationship: a utility class is typically a collection of static helper methods, not about inheritance, and a mediator class relates to a design pattern that coordinates interactions, not to extending another class.