Final answer:
A data mart is a smaller version of a data warehouse used by a specific department or function within an organization.
Step-by-step explanation:
The answer to the student's question "A data _____ is usually a smaller version of a data warehouse, used by a single department or function?" is option 4) mart. A data mart is a subset of a data warehouse and is usually oriented to a specific business line or team within an organization. Unlike data warehouses, which store vast amounts of data for the entire organization, data marts focus on storing only the data that is relevant to a particular group, allowing for quicker access and analysis.