AREAS TO STUDY

Database Management Systems

100 IMPORTANT MCQ
Q.1 In the relational modes, cardinality is termed as:
(A) Number of tuples. (B) Number of attributes.
(C) Number of tables. (D) Number of constraints.

ANS: A

Q.2 Relational calculus is a

(A) Procedural language. (B) Non- Procedural language.
(C) Data definition language. (D) High level language.

ANS: B

Q.3 The view of total database content is

(A) Conceptual view. (B) Internal view.
(C) External view. (D) Physical View.

ANS: A

Q.4 Cartesian product in relational algebra is

(A) a Unary operator. (B) a Binary operator.
(C) a Ternary operator. (D) not defined.

ANS: B Cartesian product in relational algebra is a binary operator.

(It requires two operands. e.g., P X Q)

Q.5 DML is provided for

• Description of logical structure of database.
• Addition of new structures in the database system.
• Manipulation & processing of database.
• Definition of physical structure of database system.

ANS: C DML is provided for manipulation & processing of database.

(Data stored in the database is processed or manipulated using data manipulation
language commands as its name)

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Q.6 ‘AS’ clause is used in SQL for
(A) Selection operation. (B) Rename operation.
(C) Join operation. (D) Projection operation.

ANS: B ‘AS’ clause is used in SQL for rename operation.

(e.g., SELECT ENO AS EMPLOYEE_NO FROM EMP)

Q.7 ODBC stands for

(A) Object Database Connectivity.
(B) Oral Database Connectivity.
(C) Oracle Database Connectivity.
(D) Open Database Connectivity.

ANS: D

Q.8 Architecture of the database can be viewed as

(A) two levels. (B) four levels.
(C) three levels. (D) one level.

ANS: C

Q.9 In a relational model, relations are termed as

(A) Tuples. (B) Attributes
(C) Tables. (D) Rows.

ANS:

Q.10 The database schema is written in

(A) HLL (B) DML
(C) DDL (D) DCL

ANS: C

Q.11 In the architecture of a database system external level is the

(A) physical level. (B) logical level.
(C) conceptual level (D) view level.

ANS: D

Q.12 An entity set that does not have sufficient attributes to form a primary key is a
(A) strong entity set. (B) weak entity set.
(C) simple entity set. (D) primary entity set.

ANS: B

Q.13 In a Hierarchical model records are organized as

(A) Graph. (B) List.
(C) Links. (D) Tree.

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 ANS: D

Q.14 In an E-R diagram attributes are represented by

(A) rectangle. (B) square.
(C) ellipse. (D) triangle.

ANS: C

Q.15 In case of entity integrity, the primary key may be

(A) not Null (B) Null
(C) both Null & not Null. (D) any value.

ANS: A

Q.16 In tuple relational calculus P1 → P2 is equivalent to

(A) ¬P1 ∨P2 (B) P1∨P2
(C) P1∧ P2 (D) P1 ∧ ¬P2

ANS: A In tuple relational calculus P1 € P2 is equivalent to ¬P1 ∨ P2.

(The logical implication expression A € B, meaning if A then B,is equivalent to ¬A ∨ B)

Q.17 The language used in application programs to request data from the DBMS is referred
to as the
(A) DML (B) DDL
(C) VDL (D) SDL

ANS: A

Q.18 A logical schema

II. is the entire database.
JJ. is a standard way of organizing information into accessible parts.
KK. describes how data is actually stored on disk.
LL. both (A) and (C)

ANS: A

Q.19 Related fields in a database are grouped to form a

(A) data file. (B) data record.
(C) menu. (D) bank.

ANS: B Related data fields in a database are grouped to form a data record.
(A record is a collection of related fields)

Q.20 The database environment has all of the following components except:
(A) users. (B) separate files.
(C) database. (D) database administrator.

ANS: A

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Q.21 The language which has recently become the defacto standard for interfacingapplication
programs with relational database system is
(A) Oracle. (B) SQL.
(C) DBase. (D) 4GL.

ANS: B

Q.22 The way a particular application views the data from the database that the application
uses is a
(A) module. (B) relational model.
(C) schema. (D) sub schema.

ANS: D

Q.23 In an E-R diagram an entity set is represent by a

(A) rectangle. (B) ellipse.
(C) diamond box. (D) circle.

ANS: A

Q.24 A report generator is used to

(A) update files. (B) print files on paper.
(C) data entry. (D) delete files.

ANS: B

Q.25 The property / properties of a database is / are :

III. It is an integrated collection of logically related records.
JJJ. It consolidates separate files into a common pool of data records.
KKK. Data stored in a database is independent of the application programs using it.
LLL. All of the above.

ANS: D

Q.26 The DBMS language component which can be embedded in a program is

I. The data definition language (DDL).
J. The data manipulation language (DML).
K. The database administrator (DBA).
L. A query language.

ANS: B

Q.27 A relational database developer refers to a record as

(A) a criteria. (B) a relation.
(C) a tuple. (D) an attribute.

ANS: C

Q.28 The relational model feature is that there

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 II. is no need for primary key data.
JJ. is much more data independence than some other database models.
KK. are explicit relationships among records.
LL. are tables with many dimensions.

ANS: B

Q.29 Conceptual design

III. is a documentation technique.
JJJ. needs data volume and processing frequencies to determine the size of the database.
KKK. involves modelling independent of the DBMS.
LLL. is designing the relational model.

ANS:C

Q.30 The method in which records are physically stored in a specified order according to a key
field in each record is
(A) hash. (B) direct.
(C) sequential. (D) all of the above.

ANS: A A method in which records are physically stored in a specified order according
to a key field in each record is hash.
(In hash method, a hash function is performed on the key value to determine the
unique physical address of the record to store or retrieve)

Q.31 A subschema expresses

(A) the logical view. (B) the physical view.
(C) the external view. (D) all of the above.

ANS: C A subschema expresses the external view.

(External schemas are called also called as subschemas)

Q.32 Count function in SQL returns the number of

(A) values. (B) distinct values.
(C) groups. (D) columns.

ANS: A Count function in SQL returns the number of values.

(Count function counts all the not null values in the specific column. If we want to
count only distinct values than the DISTINCT keyword is also to be used)

Q.33 Which one of the following statements is false?

• The data dictionary is normally maintained by the
database administrator.
• Data elements in the database can be modified by changing the data dictionary.
• The data dictionary contains the name and description of each data element.
• The data dictionary is a tool used exclusively by the database administrator.

ANS: B

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Q.34 An advantage of the database management approach is
(A) data is dependent on programs.
(B) data redundancy increases.
(C) data is integrated and can be accessed by multiple programs.
(D) none of the above.

ANS: C

Q.35 A DBMS query language is designed to

• support end users who use English-like commands.
• support in the development of complex applications software.
• specify the structure of a database.
• all of the above.

ANS: D

Q.36 Transaction processing is associated with everything below except

(A) producing detail, summary, or exception reports.
(B) recording a business activity.
(C) confirming an action or triggering a response.
(D) maintaining data.

ANS: C

Q.37 It is possible to define a schema completely using

(A) VDL and DDL. (B) DDL and DML.
(C) SDL and DDL. (D) VDL and DML.

ANS: B

Q.38 The method of access which uses key transformation is known as

(A) direct. (B) hash.
(C) random. (D) sequential.

ANS: B

Q.39 Data independence means

I. data is defined separately and not included in programs.
J. programs are not dependent on the physical attributes of data.
K. programs are not dependent on the logical attributes of data.
L. both (B) and (C).

ANS: D both (B) and (C)

Q.40 The statement in SQL which allows to change the definition of a table is
(A) Alter. (B) Update.
(C) Create. (D) select.

ANS: A
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Q.41 E-R model uses this symbol to represent weak entity set ?
A Dotted rectangle.
B Diamond
C Doubly outlined rectangle
D None of these

ANS: C

Q.42 SET concept is used in :

(A) Network Model
(B) Hierarchical Model
(C) Relational Model
(D) None of these

ANS: A

Q.43 Relational Algebra is

(A) Data Definition Language .
(B) Meta Language
(C) Procedural query Language
(D) None of the above

ANS: C

Q.44 Key to represent relationship between tables is called

(A) Primary key (B) Secondary Key
(C) Foreign Key (D) None of these

ANS: C

Q.45 produces the relation that has attributes of R1 and R2

(A) Cartesian product (B) Difference
(C) Intersection (D) Product

ANS: A

Q.46 The file organization that provides very fast access to any arbitrary record of a fileis
(A) Ordered file (B) Unordered file
(C) Hashed file (D) B-tree

ANS: C

Q.47 DBMS helps achieve

(A) Data independence (B) Centralized control of data
(C) Neither (A) nor (B) (D) both (A) and (B)

ANS: D

Q.48 Which of the following are the properties of entities?

(A) Groups (B) Table

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 (C) Attributes (D) Switchboards

ANS: C

Q.49 In a relation
B. Ordering of rows is immaterial
C. No two rows are identical
D. (A) and (B) both are true
E. None of these.

ANS: C

Q.50 Which of the following is correct:

II. a SQL query automatically eliminates duplicates.
JJ. SQL permits attribute names to be repeated in the same relation.
KK. a SQL query will not work if there are no indexes on the relations
LL. None of these

ANS: D

Q.51 It is better to use files than a DBMS when there are

(A) Stringent real-time requirements.
(B) Multiple users wish to access the data.
(C) Complex relationships among data.
(D) All of the above.

ANS: B

Q.52 The conceptual model is

(A) dependent on hardware.
(B) dependent on software.
(C) dependent on both hardware and software .
(D) independent of both hardware and software.

ANS: D

Q.53 What is a relationship called when it is maintained between two entities?

(A) Unary (B) Binary
(C) Ternary (D) Quaternary

ANS: B

Q.54 Which of the following operation is used if we are interested in only certain columns of a
table?
(A) PROJECTION (B) SELECTION
(C) UNION (D) JOIN

ANS: A

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Q.55 Which of the following is a valid SQL type?
(A) CHARACTER (B) NUMERIC
(C) FLOAT (D) All of the above

ANS: D

Q.56 The RDBMS terminology for a row is

(A) tuple. (B) relation.
(C) attribute. (D) degree.

ANS: A

Q.57 Which of the following operations need the participating relations to be union compatible?
(A) UNION (B) INTERSECTION
(C) DIFFERENCE (D) All of the above

ANS: D

Q.58 The full form of DDL is

(A Dynamic Data Language (B) Detailed Data Language
(C) Data Definition Language (D) Data Derivation Language

ANS: C

Q.59 Which of the following is an advantage of view?

(A) Data security (B) Derived columns
(C) Hiding of complex queries (D) All of the above

ANS: D

Q.60 Which of the following is a legal expression in SQL?

(A) SELECT NULL FROM EMPLOYEE;
(B) SELECT NAME FROM EMPLOYEE;
(C) SELECT NAME FROM EMPLOYEE WHERE SALARY = NULL;
(D) None of the above

ANS: B

Q.61 The users who use easy-to-use menu are called

(A) Sophisticated end users. (B) Naïve users.
(C) Stand-alone users. (D) Casual end users.

ANS: B

Q.62 Which database level is closest to the users?

(A) External (B) Internal
(C) Physical (D) Conceptual

ANS: A
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Q.63 Which are the two ways in which entities can participate in a relationship?
(A) Passive and active (B) Total and partial
(C) Simple and Complex (D) All of the above

ANS: B

Q.64 The result of the UNION operation between R1 and R2 is a relation that includes
(A) all the tuples of R1
(B) all the tuples of R2
(C) all the tuples of R1 and R2
(D) all the tuples of R1 and R2 which have common columns

ANS: D

Q.65 Which of the following is a comparison operator in SQL?

(A) = (B) LIKE
(C) BETWEEN (D) All of the above

ANS: D

Q.66 A set of possible data values is called

(A) attribute. (B) degree.
(C) tuple. (D) domain.

ANS: D

Q.67 Which of the operations constitute a basic set of operations for manipulating relational
data?
(A) Predicate calculus (B) Relational calculus
(C) Relational algebra (D) None of the above

ANS:C

Q.68 Which of the following is another name for weak entity?

(A) Child (B) Owner
(C) Dominant (D) All of the above

ANS: A

Q.69 Which of the following database object does not physically exist?
(A) base table (B) index
(C) view (D) none of the above

ANS: C

Q.70 NULL is
(A) the same as 0 for integer
(B) the same as blank for character
(C) the same as 0 for integer and blank for character
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 (D) not a value

ANS: D

Q.71 Which of the following is record based logical model?

(A) Network Model (B) Object oriented model
(C) E-R Model (D) None of these

ANS: A

Q.72 A data dictionary is a special file that contains:

(A) The name of all fields in all files.
(B) The width of all fields in all files.
(C) The data type of all fields in all files.
(D) All of the above.

ANS: D

Q.73 A file manipulation command that extracts some of the records from a file is called
(A) SELECT (B) PROJECT
(C) JOIN (D) PRODUCT

ANS: A

Q.74 The physical location of a record is determined by a mathematical formula that transforms
a file key into a record location is :
(A) B-Tree File (B) Hashed File
(C) Indexed File (D) Sequential file.

ANS: B

Q.75 Using Relational Algebra the query that finds customers, who have a balance of over
1000 is
(A) Π Customer_name( σ balance >1000(Deposit))
(B) σ Customer_name( Π balance >1000(Deposit))
(C) Π Customer_name( σ balance >1000(Borrow))
(D) σ Customer_name( Π balance >1000(Borrow))

ANS: A

Q.76 A primary key is combined with a foreign key creates

(A) Parent-Child relation ship between the tables that connect them.
(B) Many to many relationship between the tables that connect them.
(C) Network model between the tables that connect them.
(D) None of the above.

ANS: A

Q.77 In E-R Diagram derived attribute are represented by

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 (A) Ellipse (B) Dashed ellipse
(C) Rectangle (D) Triangle

ANS B

Q.78 Cross Product is a:

(A) Unary Operator (B) Ternary Operator
(C) Binary Operator (D) Not an operator

ANS: C

Q.79 An instance of relational schema R (A, B, C) has distinct values of A including NULL
values. Which one of the following is true?
(A) A is a candidate key (B) A is not a candidate key
(C) A is a primary Key (D) Both (A) and (C)

ANS: B

Q.80 Consider the join of a relation R with relation S. If R has m tuples and S has n tuples,
then the maximum size of join is:
(A) mn (B) m+n
(C) (m+n)/2 (D) 2(m+n)

ANS: A

Q.81 The natural join is equal to :

(A) Cartesian Product
(B) Combination of Union and Cartesian product
(C) Combination of selection and Cartesian product
(D) Combination of projection and Cartesian product

ANS: D

Q.82 Which one of the following is not true for a view:

(A) View is derived from other tables.
(B) View is a virtual table.
(C) A view definition is permanently stored as part of the database.
(D) View never contains derived columns.

ANS: C

Q.83 A primary key if combined with a foreign key creates

(A) Parent-Child relationship between the tables that connect them.
(B) Many to many relationship between the tables that connect them.
(C) Network model between the tables that connect them.
(D) None of the above.

ANS: A

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Q.84 In E-R Diagram relationship type is represented by
(A) Ellipse (B) Dashed ellipse
(C) Rectangle (D) Diamond

ANS: D

Q.85 Hierarchical model is also called

(A) Tree structure (B) Plex Structure
(C) Normalize Structure (D) Table Structure

ANS: A

Q.86 To delete a particular column in a relation the command used is:

(A) UPDATE (B) DROP
(C) ALTER (D) DELETE

ANS: C

Q.87 The operator is used to compare a value to a list of literals values that have been
specified.
(A) BETWEEN (B) ANY
(C) IN (D) ALL

ANS: A

Q.88 A logical schema

A) is the entire database
B) is a standard way of organizing information into a accessible part
C) describe how data is actually stored on disk
D) none of these

ANS: D

Q.89 A B-tree of order m has maximum of children

(A) m (B) m+1
(C) m-1 (D) m/2

ANS: A

Q.90 function divides one numeric expression by another and returns the
remainder.
(A) POWER (B) MOD
(C) ROUND (D) REMAINDER

ANS: B

Q.91 A data manipulation command the combines the records from one or more tables is called
(A) SELECT (B) PROJECT
(C) JOIN (D) PRODUCT
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 ANS: C

Q.92 In E-R diagram generalization is represented by

(A) Ellipse (B) Dashed ellipse
(C) Rectangle (D) Triangle

ANS: D

Q.93 is a virtual table that draws its data from the result of an SQL
SELECT statement.
(A) View (B) Synonym
(C) Sequence (D) Transaction

ANS: A

Q.94 The method of access which uses key transformation is known as

(A) Direct (B) Hash
(C) Random (D) Sequential

ANS: B

Q.95 A table joined with itself is called

(A) Join (B) Self Join
(C) Outer Join (D) Equi Join

ANS: B

Q.96 data type can store unstructured data

(A) RAW (B) CHAR
(C) NUMERIC (D) VARCHAR

ANS: A

Q.97 Which two files are used during operation of the DBMS
(A) Query languages and utilities
(B) DML and query language
(C) Data dictionary and transaction log
(D) Data dictionary and query language

ANS: C
PART TWO
QUESTION 1. Analyze the following table that records book loans in a library:

LoanID MemberName BookTitle DateLoaned ReturnDate

001 John "To Kill a Mockingbird" 2023-05-01 2023-06-01

002 Mary "1984" 2023-05-15 2023-06-15
003 Alice "The Great Gatsby" 2023-05-20 2023-06-20

Examine whether this table complies with the First Normal Form (1NF) and
Second Normal Form (2NF). If not, specify the issues and propose necessary
changes to achieve compliance.

QUESTION 2. Database System Architectures and Data Models

(NB: Give real world examples and implementation of each solution you provide
Extra marks)

M. Explain the various database system architectures.

MM. Discuss the advantages and challenges associated with each architecture
in terms of performance, scalability, fault tolerance, and data integrity.

MMM. Provide a real-world example of organizations or systems

that have implemented different database system architecture

QUESTION 3.
EmployeeID | EmployeeName | Department | Salary |

101 John HR 50000

102 Mary IT 60000

103 John HR 52000

04 Alice Finance 55000

105 Bob IT 62000

The table contains data about employees, including the employee ID, employee
name, department, and salary. Your task is to assess whether this table adheres to
the First Normal Form (1NF) and Second Normal Form (2NF) and make necessary
modifications if needed.
QUESTION 4. Relational Model -ERD Systems and SQL

Brighton City Hospital is a leading healthcare institution known for its commitment
to patient care. The hospital currently maintains a database containing
comprehensive medical records. Recently, the hospital's administration has
expressed interest in exploring the possibility of developing a robust Patient
Management System (PMS) tailored to efficiently handle all patient-related
information, appointments, and medical history. As a database consultant, you
were presented with the following details during the project's initiation phase:

• Physicians are characterized by attributes including Physician ID,

name, specialization, years of experience, and contact information.

• Patients are defined by attributes including Patient ID, name, date of

birth, contact details, and medical insurance information.

• Each physician is assigned to a specific department within the hospital.

• Appointments are scheduled for patients, including appointment ID,

date, time, and reason for the appointment.

• Patients can have multiple appointments, each with a

corresponding physician.

• Physicians may oversee multiple appointments, serving as the

attending physician.

• Medical records contain patient medical history, diagnosis, prescribed

medications, and treatment details.

• Each medical record is associated with a patient and the attending physician.

• Each graduate student has another, more senior graduate student (known as a
student advisor) who advises him or her on what courses to take.

REQUIREMENTS:
 M. Using an appropriate Model (e.g. Chen’s Notation or Crow Foot
Notation) create an Entity Relationship Diagram for OUC specifying the
key attributes of each entity type, and the structural constraints on each
relationship type. (You may note any unspecified requirements from the
scenario, and make appropriate assumptions to make the specification
Complete).
II. Discuss the integrity rules in your data model and illustrate how these
were applied in your ERD.

F. Writing Queries (Write both Relational Algebra and the corresponding

SQL for each of the below questions)

I. Retrieve the names and specialties of doctors in the Pediatrics department.

MM. Find the patients who have appointments scheduled with Dr. Smith on
a specific date.

III. List all medical records for patients with a specific medical condition.

IV. Identify the doctors with the highest years of practice experience.

V. Count the total number of appointments for each doctor.