ISMG Ch 8

B) identifier

A candidate key that has been selected as the unique, identifying characteristic for an entity type is called a(n): A) attribute B) identifier C) secondary key D) gerund

A) entity type

A collection of entities that share common properties or characteristics defines: A) entity type B) entity instance C) entity occurrence D) entity collection

A) user rule

A concise statement of the business rule to be enforced by the triggering operation refers to: A) user rule B) condition C) action D) event

C) entity-relationship model

A detailed, logical representation of the entities, associations, and data elements for an organization or business area defines: A) entity-relationship diagram B) conceptual model C) entity-relationship model D) data flow diagram

C) purchased models are very specific

All of the following are benefits of database patterns and packaged data models EXCEPT: A) purchased models are proven from extensive experience B) systems analysis is facilitated C) purchased models are very specific D) purchased models anticipate future needs

C) analysis

An E-R model with attributes is prepared during: A) design B) project identification and selection C) analysis D) project initiation and planning

A) triggering operation

An assertion or rule that governs the validity of data manipulation operations such as insert, update, and delete is: A) triggering operation B) entity integrity C) referential integrity constraints D) domains

B) relationship

An association between the instances of one or more entity types that is of interest to the organization best defines: A) occurrence B) relationship C) coupling D) cardinality

C) candidate key

An attribute (or combination of attributes) that uniquely identifies each instance of an entity type defines: A) data element occurrence B) trigger C) candidate key D) gerund

B) multivalued attribute

An attribute that may take on more than one value for each entity instance is referred to as a: A) gerund B) multivalued attribute C) nonexclusive attribute D) supertype

C) analysis

Conceptual data modeling is typically done in parallel with other requirements analysis and structuring steps during: A) logical design B) physical design C) analysis D) implementation

A) an E-R model represents conceptual data requirements for a particular system

During requirements structuring: A) an E-R model represents conceptual data requirements for a particular system B) the conceptual E-R data model is refined before it is translated into a logical format from which database definition and physical database design are done C) an enterprise-wide data model with very broad categories of data and little detail is prepared D) a specific E-R model is built to help explain the scope of a particular systems analysis and design effort

B) binary relationship

If STUDENT and COURSE participate in a relationship, their relationship is a(n): A) unary relationship B) binary relationship C) ternary relationship D) extraordinary relationship

B) multivalued attribute

If each employee can have more than one skill, then SKILL is referred to as a: A) gerund B) multivalued attribute C) nonexclusive attribute D) repeating attribute

C) the minimum cardinality of the relationship is one

If entity B is a mandatory participant, then: A) the minimum cardinality of the relationship is two B) the minimum cardinality of the relationship cannot be defined C) the minimum cardinality of the relationship is one D) the minimum cardinality of the relationship is optional

B) action

The condition that causes the operation to be triggered: A) condition B) action C) entity name D) user rule

A) state-transition diagramming

The most common format used for data modeling is: A) state-transition diagramming B) entity-relationship diagramming C) process modeling D) decision table diagramming

A) cardinality

The number of instances of entity B that can (or must) be associated with each instance of entity A refers to: A) cardinality B) domain C) ternary occurrence D) participation level

B) E-R diagram

The primary deliverable from the conceptual modeling step within the analysis phase is a(n): A) state-transition diagram B) E-R diagram C) context data flow diagram D) decision tree

C) domain

The set of all data types and ranges of values that an attribute can assume defines: A) cardinality B) constraint set C) domain D) reference set

A) attribute

A named property or characteristic of an entity that is of interest to the organization defines: A) attribute B) relationship C) instance D) gerund

B) underlined on an E-R diagram

For each entity, the name of the identifier is: A) identified by using a double-lined ellipse B) underlined on an E-R diagram C) bold on an E-R diagram D) written in all capital letters on an E-R diagram

A) they each describe different but complementary views of the same information system

Process, logic, and data model descriptions of a system must be consistent and complete because: A) they each describe different but complementary views of the same information system B) they are prepared during the analysis phase C) they are constructed in parallel by separate analyst teams D) programming tasks require the integration of the information contained in the diagrams

D) event

The data manipulation operation (insert, delete, or update) that initiates the operation is called a(n): A) condition B) action C) user rule D) event

A) top-down approach

The data modeling perspective that derives the business rules for a data model from an intimate understanding of the nature of the business, rather than from any specific information requirements in screens, reports, or business forms, is referred to as the: A) top-down approach B) bottom-up approach C) overview approach D) business approach

B) minimum cardinality of the relationship

The minimum number of instances of entity B that may be associated with each instance of entity A defines the: A) degree of the relationship B) minimum cardinality of the relationship C) maximum cardinality of the relationship D) domain of the relationship

C) An information system design based on a data orientation, rather than a process or logic orientation, should have a longer useful life.

Which of the following is a true statement? A) Data characteristics are dynamic. B) A data model explains the transient form of an organization. C) An information system design based on a data orientation, rather than a process or logic orientation, should have a longer useful life. D) Data flow paths are permanent.

B) triggering operations

Which of the following refers to an assertion or rule that governs the validity of data manipulation operations such as insert, update, and delete? A) referential integrity constraints B) triggering operations C) entity integrity D) domains

D) domains

Which of the following refers to the set of all data types and values that an attribute can assume? A) referential integrity constraints B) triggering operations C) entity integrity D) domains

D) overlap rule

Which of the following specifies that an entity instance can simultaneously be a member of two (or more) subtypes? A) total specialization rule B) partial specialization rule C) disjoint rule D) overlap rule

B) partial specialization rule

Which of the following specifies that an entity instance of the supertype is allowed not to belong to any subtype? A) total specialization rule B) partial specialization rule C) disjoint rule D) overlap rule

A) total specialization rule

Which of the following specifies that each entity instance of the supertype must be a member of some subtype in the relationship? A) total specialization rule B) partial specialization rule C) disjoint rule D) overlap rule

C) entity integrity

Which of the following specifies that each instance of an entity type must have a unique identifier that is not null? A) referential integrity constraints B) triggering operations C) entity integrity D) domains

C) disjoint rule

Which of the following specifies that if an entity instance of the supertype is a member of one subtype it cannot simultaneously be a member of any other subtype? A) total specialization rule B) partial specialization rule C) disjoint rule D) overlap rule

D) entity

A person, place, object, event, or concept in the user environment about which the organization wishes to maintain data refers to a(n): A) attribute B) data element C) relationship D) entity

B) associative entity

A relationship that the data modeler chooses to model as an entity type best defines: A) recursive relationship B) associative entity C) domain D) complex relationship

A) relationship

A set of two or more multivalued attributes that are logically related defines: A) relationship B) gerund C) repeating group D) class

C) ternary relationship

A simultaneous relationship among instances of three entity types is a: A) unary relationship B) binary relationship C) ternary relationship D) multiple occurrence

A) entity instance

A single occurrence of an entity type defines: A) entity instance B) entity appearance C) attribute D) data element

C) subtype

A subgrouping of the entities in an entity type that is meaningful to the organization and that shares common attributes or relationships distinct from other subgroupings best defines: A) child node B) disjoined entity C) subtype D) supertype

D) all of the above

Some systems developers believe that a data model is the most important part of the statement of information system requirements because: A) the characteristics of data captured during data modeling are crucial in the design of databases, programs, computer screens, and printed reports B) data rather than processes are the most complex aspects of many modern information systems and thus require a central role in structuring system requirements C) the characteristics about data are reasonably permanent D) all of the above

D) business rules

Specifications that preserve the integrity of the logical data model are: A) requirements specifications B) integrity restrictions C) business limitations D) business rules

B) data flows

The three main constructs of the entity-relationship modeling notation include each of the following except: A) data entities B) data flows C) relationships D) attributes

C) choose a candidate key that will not change its value over the life of each instance of the entity type

When selecting an identifier, one should: A) use intelligent keys B) use large composite keys instead of single-attribute surrogate keys C) choose a candidate key that will not change its value over the life of each instance of the entity type D) choose a candidate key such that for each instance of the entity, the attribute is guaranteed to have valid values or is null

A) referential integrity constraints

Which of the following addresses the rules concerning the relationships between entity types? A) referential integrity constraints B) triggering operations C) entity integrity D) domains