question

____ is used to reveal the meaning of data.

answer

Information

question

The only way to access the data in a database is through the DBMS.

answer

True

question

Database programming languages receive all application requests and translate them into the complex operations required to fulfill those requests.

answer

False

question

Structural dependence exists when it is possible to make changes in the file structure without affecting the application program's ability to access the data.

answer

False

question

The DBMS reveals much of the database's internal complexity to the application programs and users.

answer

False

question

Which of the following is an example of structured data?

answer

A spreadsheet

question

A ____ database supports data distributed across several different sites.

answer

distributed

question

To reveal meaning, information requires ____________________.

answer

context

question

Within the database environment, a data model represents data structures with the purpose of supporting a specific problem domain.

answer

True

question

Business rules are derived from ____.

answer

a detailed description of an organization's operations

question

Each row in the relational table is known as an entity instance or entity occurrence in the ER model.

answer

True

question

The ____ model was developed to allow designers to use a graphical tool to examine structures rather than describing them with text.

answer

entity relationship

question

____ are normally expressed in the form of rules.

answer

Constraints

question

The hierarchical model is software-independent.

answer

False

question

A(n) ____________________ in a hierarchical model is the equivalent of a record in a file system.

answer

segment

question

In an SQL-based relational database, each table is dependent on another.

answer

False

question

Tables must have the same attribute characteristics (the columns and domains must be compatible) to be used in a UNION.

answer

True

question

____ logic, used extensively in mathematics, provides a framework in which an assertion (statement of fact) can be verified as either true or false.

answer

Predicate

question

The practical significance of taking the logical view of a database is that it serves as a reminder of the simple file concept of data storage.

answer

True

question

Referential and entity integrity are two names for the same thing.

answer

False

question

PRODUCT yields all possible pairs of rows from two tables—also known as the ____________________ product.

answer

cartesian

question

The SELECT operator yields a vertical subset of a table.

answer

False

question

In an outer join, the matched pairs would be retained and any unmatched values in the other table would be left ____.

answer

null

question

In a natural join, the column on which the join was made occurs twice in the new table.

answer

False

question

Fortunately, the problems inherent in the ____________________ relationship can easily be avoided by creating a composite entity.

answer

M:N

question

The ____________________ relationship is the relational database norm.

answer

1:M

question

Relationships operate only in one direction.

answer

False

question

A relationship is an association between ____.

answer

entities

question

If an entity can exist apart from one or more related entities, it is said to be ____-independent.

answer

existence

question

The ER model refers to a specific table row as an entity occurrence.

answer

true

question

You should always load data from the 1 side of a 1:M relationship.

answer

true

question

In the original Chen model, each attribute is represented using an oval with the attribute name connected to the entity with a line.

answer

true

question

Derived attributes are stored in a special database table.

answer

False

question

____ attributes can have many values.

answer

Multivalued

question

In Chen notation, there is no way to represent cardinality.

answer

False

question

____________________ are underlined in an ER diagram.

answer

Primary keys

question

A specialization hierarchy can have ____ level(s) of supertype/subtype relationships.

answer

many

question

The completeness constraint can be partial or total.

answer

true

question

The "____" characteristic of a primary key states that: The PK should not have embedded semantic meaning. An attribute with embedded semantic meaning is probably better used as a descriptive characteristic of the entity rather than as an identifier.

answer

nonintelligent

question

At the implementation level, the supertype and its subtype(s) depicted in the specialization hierarchy maintain a ____ relationship.

answer

1:1

question

____ is a generic entity type that is related to one or more entity subtypes.

answer

an entity supertype

question

A(n) ____ is the attribute in the supertype entity that determines to which entity subtype each supertype occurrence is related.

answer

subtype discriminator

question

The price paid for increased performance through denormalization is a larger amount of

answer

redundancy

question

Normalization works through a series of stages called ___________________ forms.

answer

normal

question

A table that has all key attributes defined, has no repeating groups, and all its attributes are dependent on the primary key, is said to be in ____.

answer

1NF

question

A table is in BCNF if every determinant in the table is a foreign key.

answer

False

question

A ____ derives its name from the fact that a group of multiple entries of the same type can exist for any single key attribute occurrence.

answer

repeating group

question

Normalization is a process that is used for changing attributes to entities.

answer

False

question

Repeating groups must be eliminated by making sure that each row defines a single entity.

answer

True

question

A good relational DBMS excels at managing denormalized relations.

answer

False

question

____________________ exists when it is possible to make changes in the data storage characteristics without affecting the application program's ability to access the data.

answer

Data independence

question

Raw data must be properly ____________________ for storage, processing and presentation.

answer

formatted

question

A desktop database is a ____ database.

answer

single-user

question

A(n) ____ database is designed to support a company's day-to-day operations.

answer

transactional

question

We are now said to be entering the "knowledge age."

answer

true

question

____ relates to the activities that make the database perform more efficiently in terms of storage and access speed.

answer

Performance Tuning

question

Most data you encounter is best classified as ____.

answer

Semistructured

question

An operational database is sometimes referred to as an enterprise database.

answer

False

question

When you can change the internal model without affecting the conceptual model, you have ____________________ independence.

answer

logical

question

Business rules apply to businesses and government groups, but not to other types of organizations such as religious groups or research laboratories.

answer

False

question

MySQL is an example of a(n) ____.

answer

relational data model

question

A(n) ____ is a restriction placed on the data.

answer

constraint

question

The ____ model was developed to allow designers to use a graphical tool to examine structures rather than describing them with text.

answer

entity relationship

question

The object-oriented data model was developed in the ____.

answer

1980s

question

The ____________________ defines the portion of the database "seen" by the application programs that produce information from the data.

answer

subschema

question

In a relational model, if A determines B, C, and D, you write A = B, C, D.

answer

False

question

If the attribute (B) is functionally dependent on a composite key (A) but not on any subset of that ____ key, the attribute (B) is fully functionally dependent on (A).

answer

composite

question

____________________ is the real power behind the relational database, allowing the use of independent tables linked by common attributes.

answer

JOIN

question

A(n) ____________________ is an orderly arrangement used to logically access rows in a table.

answer

index

question

Date attributes contain calendar dates stored in a special format known as the ____ date format.

answer

Julian

question

The ____________________ relationship is the relational database norm.

answer

1:M

question

Since it is used to link the tables that originally were related in a M:N relationship, the composite entity structure includes—as foreign keys—at least the ____ keys of the tables that are to be linked.

answer

primary

question

In the context of a database table, the statement "A ____ B" indicates that if you know the value of attribute A, you can look up the value of attribute B.

answer

determines

question

Codd's rule of ____________________ states that every value in a table is guaranteed to be accessible through a combination of table name, primary key value, and column name.

answer

Guaranteed Access

question

All RDBMSs enforce integrity rules automatically.

answer

False

question

Complex ____ requirements may dictate data transformations, and they may expand the number of entities and attributes within the design.

answer

information

question

Identifying the attributes of the entities helps you better understand the ____________________ among entities.

answer

relationships

question

Failure to understand the distinction between mandatory and optional ____________________ in relationships might yield designs in which awkward (and unnecessary) temporary rows (entity instances) must be created just to accommodate the creation of required entities.

answer

participation

question

An attribute representing one or more college degrees belonging to a person would be a(n) ____________________ attribute.

answer

multivalued

question

Knowing the ____ number of entity occurrences is very helpful at the application software level.

answer

maximum and minimum

question

____________________ are underlined in an ER diagram.

answer

primary keys

question

Instead of storing a person's age, it is better to store the date of birth and use the difference between that value and the system date as a(n) ____________________ attribute.

answer

derived

question

____________________ attributes can be subdivided.

answer

composite

question

Some ____________________ database modeling concepts can be expressed only using the Chen notation.

answer

conceptual

question

The ERM forms the basis of a(n) ___________________________________.

answer

ERD, Entity Relationship Diagram

question

The default comparison condition for the subtype discriminator attribute is the ____ comparison.

answer

equality

question

In specialization hierarchies with multiple levels of supertype/subtypes, a lower-level supertype inherits all of the attributes and relationships from all of its upper-level subtypes.

answer

False

question

From a data modeling point of view, ____________________ refer to data whose values change over time and for which you must keep a history of the data changes.

answer

time-variant data

question

____ relationships occur when there are multiple relationship paths between related entities.

answer

Redundant

question

____________________ completeness means that every supertype occurrence must be a member of at least one subtype.

answer

Total

question

The most common design trap is known as a(n) ____________________.

answer

fan trap

question

If a table has multiple candidate keys and one of those candidate keys is a composite key, the table can have ____ based on this composite candidate key, even when the primary key chosen is a single attribute.

answer

partial dependencies

question

Atomic attributes are attributes that can be further divided.

answer

False

question

Some very specialized applications may require normalization beyond the ____.

answer

4NF

question

____________________ refers to the level of detail represented by the values stored in a table's row.

answer

Granulairty

question

The most likely data type for a surrogate key is ____.

answer

Numeric

question

From a strictly database point of view, ____ attribute values can be calculated when they are needed to write reports or invoices.

answer

derived

question

A table that is in 1NF and includes no partial dependencies is said to be in ____.

answer

2NF

question

The DBMS reveals much of the database's internal complexity to the application programs and users.

answer

False

question

A(n) ___________________________________ is a collection of programs that manages the database structure and controls access to the data stored in the database.

answer

DBMS

question

Data ____________________ is a discipline that focuses on proper generation, storage and retrieval of data.

answer

Management

question

One disadvantage of a database system over previous data management approaches is increased costs.

answer

true

question

___________________________________ is a special language used to represent and manipulate data elements in a textual format.

answer

XML

question

____________________ is data about data through which the end-user data are integrated and managed.

answer

Metadata

question

____________________ exists when it is possible to make changes in the data storage characteristics without affecting the application program's ability to access the data.

answer

Data independence

question

A(n) ____________________ develops when all required changes in the redundant data are not made successfully.

answer

anamoly

question

In _________________________, a three-pronged symbol represents the "many" side of the relationship.

answer

Crow's Foot notation

question

The relational data model was developed in the ____.

answer

1970s

question

A(n) ____________________ is a representation of the relational database's entities, the attributes within those entities and the relationships between those entities.

answer

relational diagram

question

The ____ model uses the term connectivity to label the relationship types.

answer

entity relationship

question

In the ____ model, each parent can have many children, but each child has only one parent.

answer

hierarchical

question

MySQL is an example of a(n) ____.

answer

relational data model

question

The terms data model and database model are often used interchangeably.

answer

True

question

A(n) ____ model represents a global view of the database as viewed by the entire organization.

answer

conceptual

question

Tables within a database share common attributes that enable the tables to be linked together.

answer

True

question

A foreign key must exist in both tables that have a relationship.

answer

False

question

A left outer join on tables CUSTOMER and AGENT yields all of the rows in the CUSTOMER table, including those that do not have a matching value in the AGENT table

answer

true

question

Date attributes contain calendar dates stored in a special format known as the ____ date format.

answer

Julian

question

Depending on the sophistication of the application development software, nulls can create problems when functions such as COUNT, AVERAGE, and SUM are used.

answer

true

question

A proper understanding of the concept and use of keys in a relational database model is very important.

answer

true

question

____________________ relationships can be implemented by creating a new entity in 1:M relationships with the original entities.

answer

M:N

question

A(n) ____________________ key can be described as a superkey without unnecessary attributes.

answer

candidate

question

____ relational type is the "relational model ideal."

answer

1:M

question

A ____ relationship exists when an association is maintained within a single entity.

answer

unary

question

An entity is said to be ____-dependent if it can exist in the database only when it is associated with another related entity occurrence.

answer

existence

question

Attributes cannot share a domain.

answer

False

question

A ____ identifier is composed of more than one attribute.

answer

composite

question

Knowing the ____ number of entity occurrences is very helpful at the application software level.

answer

maximum and minimum

question

In the original ERM described by Chen, relationships do not contain ____________________.

answer

attributes

question

The step, ____, occurs first in the process of building an ERD.

answer

Create a detailed narrative of the organization's description of operations.

question

Ideally, a primary key is composed of several attributes.

answer

False

question

A derived attribute is indicated in the Chen model by a ____.

answer

dashed line

question

The Crow's foot symbol with two parallel lines indicates ____ cardinality.

answer

(1,1)

question

A design trap occurs when a relationship is improperly or incompletely identified and is therefore represented in a way that is not consistent with the real world.

answer

True

question

Composite primary keys are particularly useful as identifiers of composite entities, where each primary key combination is allowed ____________________ in the M:N relationship.

answer

once

question

At the implementation level, the supertype and its subtype(s) depicted in the specialization hierarchy maintain a ____ relationship.

answer

1:1

question

The property of subtype discriminator enables an entity supertype to inherit the attributes and relationships of the subtype.

answer

False

question

The relationships depicted within the specialization hierarchy are sometimes described in terms of "is-a" relationships.

answer

True

question

The property of ____ enables an entity subtype to inherit the attributes and relationships of the supertype.

answer

inheritance

question

An attribute that is part of a key is known as a(n) ____ attribute.

answer

prime

question

The combination of ____________________ and ER modeling yields a useful ERD, whose entities may now be translated into appropriate table structures.

answer

normalization

question

Normalization represents a micro view of the entities within the ERD.

answer

True

question

An example of denormalization is using a ____ denormalized table to hold report data. This is required when creating a tabular report in which the columns represent data that is stored in the table as rows.

answer

temporary

question

A table that is in 2NF and contains no transitive dependencies is said to be in ____.

answer

3NF

question

A table is in BCNF if every determinant in the table is a foreign key.

answer

False

question

If database tables are treated as though they were files in a file system, the _____________________________________________ never has a chance to demonstrate its superior data-handling capabilities.

answer

RDBMS

question

Because a partial dependency can exist only if a table's primary key is composed of several attributes, a table whose ____________________ key consists of only a single attribute is automatically in 2NF if it is in 1NF.

answer

primary

question

____ is the body of information and facts about a specific subject.

answer

knowledge

question

A(n) ____________________ is a specific request issued to the DBMS for data manipulation.

answer

query

question

A ____ is a logically connected set of one or more fields that describes a person, place or thing.

answer

record

question

The ____ serve(s) as the intermediary between the user and the database.

answer

DBMS

question

A(n) ____________________ develops when all required changes in the redundant data are not made successfully.

answer

data anomaly

question

____________________ exists when the same data are stored unnecessarily at different places.

answer

data redundancy

question

Structural dependence exists when it is possible to make changes in the file structure without affecting the application program's ability to access the data.

answer

False

question

Database programming languages receive all application requests and translate them into the complex operations required to fulfill those requests.

answer

False

question

A(n) ____________________ is a collection of similar objects with a shared structure and behavior.

answer

class

question

Which of the following is true of business rules?

answer

They can serve as a communication tool between the users and designers.

question

A(n) ____ is bidirectional.

answer

relationship

question

In the ____ model, the user perceives the database as a collection of records in 1:M relationships, where each record can have more than one parent.

answer

network

question

The term ____________________ is used to refer to the task of creating a conceptual data model that could be implemented in any DBMS.

answer

logical design

question

To be considered minimally relational, the DBMS must support the key relational operators ____, PROJECT, and JOIN.

answer

SELECT

question

Codd's rule of ____________________ states that every value in a table is guaranteed to be accessible through a combination of table name, primary key value, and column name.

answer

Guaranteed Access

question

The relational model's creator, E. F. Codd, used the term relation as a synonym for ____.

answer

table

question

If the foreign key contains either matching values or nulls, the table that makes use of that foreign key is said to exhibit ____________________ integrity

answer

referential

question

Because the relational model uses attribute values to establish relationships among tables, many database users correctly assume that the term relation refers to such relationships.

answer

False

question

All primary key entries are unique, and no part of a primary key may be ____.

answer

null

question

In both the Chen and Crow's Foot models, an entity is represented with a rectangle containing the entity's name.

answer

True

question

The ____ type of attribute cannot be created in a DBMS.

answer

multivalued

question

Attributes may share a ____.

answer

domain

question

A ____ attribute can be further subdivided to yield additional attributes.

answer

composite

question

A ____ relationship exists when three entities are associated.

answer

ternary

question

The Crow's Foot model is more ____________________-oriented than the Chen model.

answer

implementation

question

The ____________________ refers to a specific table row as an entity instance.

answer

ERM

question

An entity cluster is formed by combining multiple interrelated entities into ____.

answer

a single abstract entity object

question

Partial completeness is symbolized by ____.

answer

a circle over a single line

question

The ____________________ constraint specifies whether each entity supertype occurrence must also be a member of at least one subtype.

answer

completeness

question

____ data refer to data whose values change over time and for which you must keep a history of the data changes.

answer

time-variant

question

The extended entity relationship model (EERM) is sometimes referred to as the ____.

answer

enhanced entity relationship model

question

Non-overlapping subtypes are subtypes that contain a(n) ____ subset of the supertype entity set.

answer

unique

question

When a nonkey attribute is the determinant of a key attribute the table is in 3NF but not _________________________.

answer

BCNF

question

Data redundancy produces ____.

answer

data integrity problems

question

A table is in BCNF if every determinant in the table is a foreign key.

answer

False

question

An atomic attribute ____.

answer

cannot be further subdivided

question

A diagram that depicts all dependencies found within a given table structure is known as a(n) ____________________.

answer

dependency diagram

question

Normalization works through a series of stages called normal forms. For most purposes in business database design, ____ stages are as high as you need to go in the normalization process.

answer

three

question

In _________________________ no row may contain two or more multivalued facts about an entity.

answer

4NF

question

Accurate, relevant, and timely information is the key to ____.

answer

good decision making

question

A workgroup database is a(n)____ database.

answer

multuser

question

A(n) ____________________ focuses primarily on storing data used to generate information required to make tactical or strategic decisions.

answer

data warehouse

question

A(n) ____ represents a particular type of object in the real world.

answer

enity

question

A manager and a programmer usually have the same view of the same data.

answer

False

question

An implementation-ready data model should contain a description of the data structure that will store the end-user data.

answer

True

question

Because the relational model uses attribute values to establish relationships among tables, many database users correctly assume that the term relation refers to such relationships.

answer

False

question

The ____________________ catalog can be described as a detailed system data dictionary that describes all objects within the database, including data about table names, the table's creator and creation date, the number of columns in each table, the data type corresponding to each column, index filenames, index creators, authorized users, and access privileges.

answer

system

question

Proper data ____________________ design requires carefully defined and controlled data redundancies to function properly.

answer

warehousing

question

Relationship strength depends on how the primary key of the related entity is formulated, while the relationship ____________________ depends on how the business rule is written.

answer

participation

question

If you use a surrogate key, you must ensure that the candidate key of the entity in question performs properly through the use of "____________________" and "not null" constraints.

answer

unique index

question

Generalization is based on grouping unique characteristics and relationships of the subtypes.

answer

False

question

Implementing non-overlapping subtypes requires the use of one discriminator attribute for each subtype.

answer

False

question

It becomes difficult to create a suitable ____________________ key when the related table uses a composite primary key.

answer

foreign

question

Of the following normal forms, ____, is mostly of theoretical interest.

answer

DKNF

question

Normalization is a process that is used for changing attributes to entities.

answer

False

IT-214 Midterm Practice Test Question Bank 1 – Flashcards

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