Midterm 165 Questions

The number of entity types that participate in a relationship is called the: A. degree. B. number. C. identifying characteristic. D. counter.

A. degree.

Many of the disadvantages of file processing systems can also be limitations of databases. A. TrueB. False

A True

________ is a component of the relational data model included to specify business rules to maintain the integrity of data when they are manipulated. A. Data integrity B. Business rule constraint C. Business integrity D. Data structure

A. Data integrity

Which of the following is NOT a cost and/or risk of the database approach? A. Improved responsiveness B. Organizational conflict C. Cost of conversion D. Specialized personnel

A. Improved responsiveness

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of database systems? A. Redundant data B. Better data quality C. Program-data independence D. Reduced program maintenance

A. Redundant data

Which of the following violates the atomic property of relations? A. Sam Hinz B. Sam C. Hinz D. Atomic

A. Sam Hinz

A user view is: A. a logical description of some portion of the database. B. what a user sees when he or she looks out the window. C. a procedure stored on the server. D. a table or set of tables.

A. a logical description of some portion of the database.

In a file processing environment, descriptions for data and the logic for accessing the data are built into: A. application programs. B. database descriptors. C. records. D. fields.

A. application programs.

An entity that associates the instances of one or more entity types and contains attributes peculiar to the relationships is called a(n): A. associative entity. B. smush entity. C. build entity. D. gateway entity.

A. associative entity.

A property or characteristic of an entity type that is of interest to the organization is called a(n): A. attribute. B. relationship. C. cross-function. D. coexisting entity.

A. attribute.

An attribute that uniquely identifies an entity and consists of a composite attribute is called a(n): A. composite identifier. B. composite attribute. C. relationship identifier. D. identifying attribute.

A. composite identifier.

A graphical system used to capture the nature and relationships among data is called a(n): A. data model. B. hypertext graphic. C. XML data model. D. relational database.

A. data model.

An attribute that can be calculated from related attribute values is called a ________ attribute. A. derived B. simple C. multivalued D. composite

A. derived

An attribute of an entity that is computed is a(n): A. derived attribute. B. composite attribute. C. fuzzy attribute. D. optional attribute.

A. derived attribute.

Customers, cars, and parts are examples of: A. entities. B. cardinals. C. relationships. D. attributes.

A. entities.

The logical representation of an organization's data is called a(n): A. entity-relationship model. B. relationship systems design. C. database model. D. database entity diagram.

A. entity-relationship model.

A constraint between two attributes is called a(n): A. functional dependency. B. attribute dependency. C. functional relation constraint. D. functional relation.

A. functional dependency.

An attribute that may have more than one meaning is called a(n): A. homonym. B. double defined attribute. C. alias. D. synonym.

A. homonym.

A student can attend five classes, each with a different professor. Each professor has 30 students. The relationship of students to professors is a ________ relationship. A. many-to-many B. one-to-many C. strong D. one-to-one

A. many-to-many

A two-dimensional table of data sometimes is called a: A. relation. B. declaration. C. set. D. group.

A. relation.

A centralized knowledge base of all data definitions, data relationships, screen and report formats, and other system components is called a(n): A. repository. B. database management system. C. data warehouse. D. index.

A. repository.

With the database approach, data descriptions are stored in a central location known as a: A. repository. B. server. C. mainframe. D. PC.

A. repository.

A major difference between data warehouses and transactional systems as compared to big data is: A. the data is unstructured in big data systems. B. the size of the CPU used. C. the programming required to access data. D. All of these.

A. the data is unstructured in big data systems.

A candidate key must satisfy all of the following conditions EXCEPT: A. the key must indicate the row's position in the table. B. the key must be nonredundant. C. the key must uniquely identify the row. D. each nonkey attribute is functionally dependent upon it.

A. the key must indicate the row's position in the table.

Because applications are often developed independently in file processing systems: A. unplanned duplicate data files are the rule rather than the exception. B. there is a large volume of file I/O. C. the data is always non-redundant. D. data can always be shared with others.

A. unplanned duplicate data files are the rule rather than the exception.

A relation that contains minimal redundancy and allows easy use is considered to be: A. well-structured. B. simple. C. clean. D. complex.

A. well-structured.

________ problems are encountered when removing data with transitive dependencies. A. Insertion B. Deletion C. Modification D. Merging

B. Deletion

A well-structured database establishes the entities between relationships in order to derive the desired information. A. TrueB. False

B. False

Database development begins with the design of the database. A. TrueB. False

B. False

Which of the following are properties of relations? A. There are multivalued attributes in a relation. B. No two rows in a relation are identical. C. Each attribute has the same name. D. All columns are numeric.

B. No two rows in a relation are identical.

Which of the following is NOT a good characteristic of a data name? A. Repeatable B. Relates to a technical characteristic of the system C. Relates to business characteristics D. Readable

B. Relates to a technical characteristic of the system

A relation that contains no multivalued attributes and has nonkey attributes solely dependent on the primary key but contains transitive dependencies is in which normal form?

B. Second

Which of the following is an entity that exists independently of other entity types? A. Codependent B. Strong C. Weak D. Variant

B. Strong

An entity type name should be all of the following EXCEPT: A. specific to the organization. B. as short as possible. C. a singular noun. D. concise.

B. as short as possible.

Database development begins with ________, which establishes the range and general contents of organizational databases. A. cross-functional analysis B. enterprise data modeling C. departmental data modeling D. database design

B. enterprise data modeling

The ________ states that no primary key attribute may be null. A. referential integrity constraint B. entity integrity rule C. partial specialization rule D. range domain rule

B. entity integrity rule

When all multivalued attributes have been removed from a relation, it is said to be in: A. second normal form. B. first normal form. C. Boyce-Codd normal form. D. third normal form.

B. first normal form.

An attribute in a relation of a database that serves as the primary key of another relation in the same database is called a:

B. foreign key.

The normal form which deals with multivalued dependencies is called: A. sixth normal form. B. fourth normal form. C. fifth normal form. D. Boyce-Codd normal form.

B. fourth normal form.

A domain definition consists of all of the following components EXCEPT: A. domain name. B. integrity constraints. C. data type. D. size.

B. integrity constraints.

Data that describe the properties of other data are: A. relationships. B. metadata. C. physical. D. logical.

B. metadata.

The entity integrity rule states that: A. a primary key must have only one attribute. B. no primary key attribute can be null. C. each entity must have a primary key. D. referential integrity must be maintained across all entities.

B. no primary key attribute can be null.

The number of entity types that participate in a Unary relationship is: A. zero. B. one. C. two. D. three.

B. one.

All of the following are primary purposes of a database management system (DBMS) EXCEPT: A. storing data. B. providing an integrated development environment. C. updating data. D. creating data.

B. providing an integrated development environment.

A rule that states that each foreign key value must match a primary key value in the other relation is called the: A. entity key group rule. B. referential integrity constraint. C. key match rule. D. foreign/primary match rule.

B. referential integrity constraint.

Relational databases establish the relationships between entities by means of common fields included in a file called a(n): A. relationship. B. relation. C. entity. D. association.

B. relation.

Two or more attributes having different names but the same meaning are called: A. alternate attributes. B. synonyms. C. homonyms. D. aliases.

B. synonyms.

A value that indicates the date or time of a data value is called a: A. value stamp. B. time stamp. C. check counter. D. checkpoint.

B. time stamp.

Languages, menus, and other facilities by which users interact with the database are collectively called a(n): A. icon. B. user interface. C. development environment. D. client.

B. user interface.

An entity type whose existence depends on another entity type is called a ________ entity. A. variant B. weak C. strong D. codependent

B. weak

A good data definition will describe all of the characteristics of a data object EXCEPT: A. subtleties. B. who can delete the data. C. examples. D. who determines the value of the data.

B. who can delete the data.

The normal form which removes any remaining functional dependencies because there was more than one primary key for the same nonkeys is called: A. sixth normal form. B. fourth normal form. C. Boyce-Codd normal form. D. fifth normal form.

C. Boyce-Codd normal form.

________ anomalies can be caused by editing data in tables. A. Creation B. Deletion C. Modification D. Insertion

C. Modification

Which of the following is NOT a reason to create an instance of a relational schema with sample data? A. Sample data can be used to improve user communications. B. Sample data can be used for prototype generation. C. Sample data can reverse database implementation errors. D. Sample data provide a convenient way to check the accuracy of your design.

C. Sample data can reverse database implementation errors.

The SDLC phase in which every data attribute is defined, every category of data is listed, and every business relationship between data entities is defined is called the ________ phase. A. planning B. design C. analysis D. implementation

C. analysis

A person's name, birthday, and social security number are all examples of: A. descriptors. B. entities. C. attributes. D. relationships.

C. attributes.

An attribute that can be broken down into smaller parts is called a(n) ________ attribute. A. complex B. simple C. composite D. associative

C. composite

In the SQL language, the ________ statement is used to make table definitions. A. create index B. create session C. create table D. select

C. create table

When a regular entity type contains a multivalued attribute, one must: A. create a single relation with multiple lines for each instance of the multivalued attribute. B. create two new relations, both containing the multivalued attribute. C. create two new relations, one containing the multivalued attribute. D. delete the relation and start over.

C. create two new relations, one containing the multivalued attribute.

Database management involves all of the following EXCEPT: A. organizing data. B. collecting data. C. design web pages. D. managing data.

C. design web pages.

A primary key whose value is unique across all relations is called a(n): A. foreign global key. B. global primary key. C. enterprise key. D. inter-table primary key.

C. enterprise key.

A(n) ________ is the relationship between a weak entity type and its owner. A. chain link B. jump path C. identifying relationship D. member chain

C. identifying relationship

A form of database design which maps conceptual requirements is called: A. response designs. B. physical design. C. logical designs. D. security design.

C. logical designs.

Business policies and rules govern all of the following EXCEPT: A. updating data. B. creating data. C. managing employees. D. removing data.

C. managing employees.

A relationship where the minimum and maximum cardinality are both one is a(n) ________ relationship. A. unidirectional B. mandatory link C. mandatory one D. optional

C. mandatory one

Legacy systems often contain data of ________ quality and are generally hosted on ________. A. excellent; mainframes B. poor; personal computers C. poor; mainframes D. excellent; workgroup computers

C. poor; mainframes

An attribute (or attributes) that uniquely identifies each row in a relation is called a: A. duplicate key. B. foreign field. C. primary key. D. column.

C. primary key.

An attribute that must be present for every entity (or relationship) instance is a(n): A. composite attribute. B. optional attribute. C. required attribute. D. multivalued attribute.

C. required attribute.

Data is represented in the form of: A. data notes. B. chairs. C. tables. D. data trees.

C. tables.

A relationship between the instances of a single entity type is called a ________ relationship. A. ternary B. binary C. unary D. primary

C. unary

Which of the following criteria should be considered when selecting an identifier? A. Choose the most complex identifier possible. B. Choose an identifier that is not stable. C. Choose a null identifier. D. Choose an identifier that doesn't have large composite attributes.

D. Choose an identifier that doesn't have large composite attributes.

Which of the following is software used to create, maintain, and provide controlled access to databases? A. Network operating system B. Attribute C. User view D. Database management system (DBMS)

D. Database management system (DBMS)

________ are established between entities in a well-structured database so that the desired information can be retrieved. A. Lines B. Ties C. Entities D. Relationships

D. Relationships

________ is a tool even non-programmers can use to access information from a database. A. Data manipulation query language B. ASP C. ODBC D. Structured query language

D. Structured query language

The traditional methodology used to develop, maintain, and replace information systems is called the: A. Enterprise Resource Model. B. Systems Deployment Life Cycle. C. Unified Model. D. Systems Development Life Cycle.

D. Systems Development Life Cycle.

A ________ defines or constrains some aspect of the business. A. business constraint B. business structure C. business control D. business rule

D. business rule

A ________ specifies the number of instances of one entity that can be associated with each instance of another entity.

D. cardinality constraint

A primary key that consists of more than one attribute is called a: A. multivalued key. B. cardinal key. C. foreign key. D. composite key.

D. composite key.

A rule that CANNOT be violated by database users is called a: A. view. B. program. C. password. D. constraint.

D. constraint.

The total quiz points for a student for an entire semester is a(n) ________ attribute. A. stored B. addressed C. mixed D. derived

D. derived

A nonkey attribute is also called a(n): A. unimportant datum. B. column. C. address. D. descriptor.

D. descriptor.

A person, place, object, event, or concept about which the organization wishes to maintain data is called a(n): A. relationship. B. object. C. attribute. D. entity.

D. entity.

The SDLC phase in which database processing programs are created is the ________ phase. A. planning B. design C. analysis D. implementation

D. implementation

Metatdata typically describes all of the following EXCEPT: A. length. B. data definitions. C. allowable values. D. location on disk.

D. location on disk.

A database is an organized collection of ________ related data. A. loosely B. physically C. badly D. logically

D. logically

All of the following are the main goals of normalization EXCEPT: A. simplify the enforcement of referential integrity. B. make it easier to maintain data. C. minimize data redundancy. D. maximize storage space.

D. maximize storage space.

A knowledge base of information or facts about an enterprise is called a(n): A. enterprise information system. B. systems information unit. C. database process. D. repository.

D. repository.

A departmental multi-tiered client/server database is stored on a central device called a: A. client. B. network. C. remote PC. D. server.

D. server.

The most common types of entities are: A. associative entities. B. smush entities. C. weak entities. D. strong entities.

D. strong entities.

A fact is an association between two or more: A. facts. B. words. C. nuggets. D. terms.

D. terms.

A functional dependency between two or more nonkey attributes is called a: A. partial functional dependency. B. partial transitive dependency. C. partial nonkey dependency. D. transitive dependency.

D. transitive dependency.

Which organizational function should set database standards? A. Technical services B. Database Administration C. Management D. Application development

Database Administration

A composite key consists of only one attribute. A. TrueB. False

False

A constraint is a rule in a database system that can be violated by users. A. TrueB. False

False

A foreign key is a primary key of a relation that also is a primary key in another relation. A. TrueB. False

False

A simple attribute can be broken down into smaller pieces. A. TrueB. False

False

A synonym is an attribute that may have more than one meaning. A. TrueB. False

False

An enterprise key is a foreign key whose value is unique across all relations. A. TrueB. False

False

Data names do not have to be unique. A. TrueB. False

False

Data redundancy is used to establish relationships between data but is never used to improve database performance. A. TrueB. False

False

Databases were developed as the first application of computers to data processing. A. TrueB. False

False

In an E-R diagram, strong entities are represented by double-walled rectangles. A. TrueB. False

False

In the relational data model, associations between tables are defined through the use of primary keys. A. TrueB. False

False

Metadata are data that describe the properties of other data. A. TrueB. False

False

Most systems developers believe that data modeling is the least important part of the systems development process. A. TrueB. False

False

Some examples of attributes are: eye_color, weight, student_id, STUDENT. A. TrueB. False

False

The data that you are interested in capturing about an entity is called an instance. A. TrueB. False

False

The entity integrity rule states that a primary key attribute can be null. A. TrueB. False

False

The name used for an entity type should never be the same in other E-R diagrams on which the entity appears. A. TrueB. False

False

The primary key of the many side migrates to the one side when transforming a one-to-many relationship. A. TrueB. False

False

The purpose of data modeling is to document business rules about processes. A. TrueB. False

False

The relational data model does, at this time, directly support subtype/supertype relationships. A. TrueB. False

False

The relationship among the instances of three entity types is called a unary relationship. A. TrueB. False

False

The steps of the systems development life cycle can only be viewed as a linear process. A. TrueB. False

False

The truncate table statement in SQL creates a new table. A. TrueB. False

False

There can be multivalued attributes in a relation. A. TrueB. False

False

Unlike columns, the rows of a relation may not be interchanged and must be stored in one sequence. A. TrueB. False

False

When transforming a one-to-one relationship, a new relation is always created. A. TrueB. False

False

A business rule is a statement that defines or constrains some aspect of the business. A. TrueB. False

True

A candidate key is an attribute, or combination of attributes, that uniquely identifies a row in a relation. A. TrueB. False

True

A cascading delete removes all records in other tables associated with the record to be deleted. A. TrueB. False

True

A customer can order many items, and an item can be ordered by many customers is an example of a recursive relationship. A. TrueB. False

True

A data model is a graphical system used to capture the nature and relationships among data. A. TrueB. False

True

A fact is an association between two or more terms. A. TrueB. False

True

A good data definition is always accompanied by diagrams, such as the entity-relationship diagram. A. TrueB. False

True

A multivalued attribute may take on more than one value for a particular entity instance. A. TrueB. False

True

A person is an example of an entity. A. TrueB. False

True

A primary key is an attribute that uniquely identifies each row in a relation. A. TrueB. False

True

A referential integrity constraint is a rule that maintains consistency among the rows of two relations. A. TrueB. False

True

A relational database establishes the relationships between entities by means of a common field. A. TrueB. False

True

A single occurrence of an entity type is called an entity instance. A. TrueB. False

True

A time stamp is a time value that is associated with a data value. A. TrueB. False

True

All values that appear in a column of a relation must be taken from the same domain. A. TrueB. False

True

An attribute whose values can be calculated from related attribute values is called a derived attribute. A. TrueB. False

True

An entity is a person, place, object, event, or concept in the user environment about which the organization wishes to maintain data. A. TrueB. False

True

An entity type name should always be a singular noun. A. TrueB. False

True

Data modeling is about documenting rules and policies of an organization that govern data. A. TrueB. False

True

Data names should always relate to business characteristics. A. TrueB. False

True

Data, rather than processes, are the most complex aspects of many modern information systems. A. TrueB. False

True

Development starts from scratch with the traditional file processing approach because new file formats, descriptions, and file access logic must be designed for each new program. A. TrueB. False

True

Enterprise modeling sets the range and general contents of organizational databases. A. TrueB. False

True

File processing systems have been replaced by database systems in most critical business applications today. A. TrueB. False

True

If an identifier is not assigned, the default primary key for an associative relation consists of the two primary key attributes from the other two relations. A. TrueB. False

True

Information is processed data. A. TrueB. False

True

It is desirable that no two attributes across all entity types have the same name. A. TrueB. False

True

One of the roles of a database analyst is to identify and understand rules that govern data. A. TrueB. False

True

One property of a relation is that each attribute within a relation has a unique name. A. TrueB. False

True

One reason to use an associative entity is if the associative entity has one or more attributes in addition to the identifier. A. TrueB. False

True

Participation in a relationship may be optional or mandatory. A. TrueB. False

True

Relationships represent action being taken using a verb phrase. A. TrueB. False

True

Sample data are useful for developing prototype applications and for testing queries. A. TrueB. False

True

Separation of metadata from application programs that use the data is called data independence. A. TrueB. False

True

The E-R model is used to construct a conceptual model. A. TrueB. False

True

The columns of a relation can be interchanged without changing the meaning or use of the relation. A. TrueB. False

True

The data repository assists database administrators in enforcing standards.

True

The relationship between a weak entity type and its owner is an identifying relationship. A. TrueB. False

True

The relationship between the instances of two entity types is called a binary relationship. A. TrueB. False

True

The user interface includes languages, menus, and other facilities by which users interact with various system components. A. TrueB. False

True

Unplanned duplicate data files are the rule rather than the exception in file processing systems. A. TrueB. False

True

View integration is the process of merging relations together. A. TrueB. False

True

When a regular entity type contains a multivalued attribute, two new relations are created. A. TrueB. False

True

When choosing an identifier, choose one that will not change its value often. A. TrueB. False

True

When normalizing, the goal is to decompose relations with anomalies to produce smaller, well-structured relations. A. TrueB. False

True

When two or more attributes describe the same characteristic of an entity, they are synonyms. A. TrueB. False

True

A(n) ________ is often developed by identifying a form or report that a user needs on a regular basis. A. enterprise view B. user view C. user snapshot D. reporting document

user view