Which of the following best describes a derived class?

A derived class is fundamentally defined as a class that inherits properties and behaviors from another class, known as the base or parent class. This inheritance allows the derived class to utilize and extend the functionalities of the base class, facilitating code reusability and establishing a hierarchical relationship between classes.

In the context of object-oriented programming, this means that the derived class can access and override methods and properties of the parent class while also introducing its own unique features. This feature is essential for creating more specialized types of objects that share common characteristics with their parent classes while also being able to define their own specific attributes and methods.

The other options describe concepts that do not accurately represent the characteristics of a derived class. For example, a class that does not inherit properties from other classes describes an independent or base class, while an abstract class is a specific type of class that cannot be instantiated directly and often contains abstract methods that must be implemented by derived classes. Similarly, a class that contains only static members does not accurately depict the concept of a derived class, which typically involves instance variables and methods. Thus, the description of a derived class as one that inherits from another class is the most fitting characterization.