Question

the way a hologram works is most similar to a
a.diffraction grating
b. prism
c. compound lens

Answer 1

The way a hologram works is most similar to a prism. They both are similar.

Answer 2

a, diffraction grating. A hologram is a series of interference/diffraction "images" of the object that was photographed/hologramised. Inventor was Hungarian (I think) physicist and Nobel prize winner for the concept, Professor Denis Gabor.