Why is choke coil needed in the use of flourscent takes with a.c mains? Why can we not use an ordinary resistor instead of choke coil ?

Question

$\begin{array}{1 1} \text{To reduce a.c with out loss of power} \\ \text{To reduce d.c with out loss of power} \\ \text{To increase a.c with out loss of power} \\ \text{To increase d.c with out loss of power} \\ \end{array}$