Cambridge International A Level · Computer Science (9618)

Databases: Practice Questions

5 multiple-choice questions marked as you go, and 5 written questions with worked solutions. All on Databases.

10 questions24 marksFree, no account

Question 1

1 mark

In the context of a relational database, which term is used to describe a single record within a table?

Question 2

1 mark

A database table is considered to be in First Normal Form (1NF) if it satisfies which of the following criteria?

Question 3

1 mark

In a relational database where referential integrity is enforced, what is the default behavior when a user attempts to delete a record in a parent table that has related records in a child table?

Question 4

1 mark

A database administrator is evaluating the efficiency of a relational database. To improve the speed of data retrieval for a specific attribute without altering the logical schema or the physical storage order of the records, which database feature should be implemented?

Question 5

1 mark

A database table for OrderDetails contains the following attributes: (OrderID, ProductID, ProductName, UnitPrice, Quantity).

The combination (OrderID, ProductID) serves as the primary key. If ProductName depends only on ProductID, which of the following statements accurately describes the current state of this table?

Question 6

2 marks

In the context of a relational database, state the term used to describe a field in one table that refers to the primary key in another table, used to establish a relationship between the two tables.

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Question 7

3 marks

Explain why a many-to-many relationship between two entities, such as STUDENT and COURSE, cannot be directly implemented in a relational database and state how this is resolved.

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Question 8

6 marks

In the context of a Database Management System (DBMS), describe the role of the data dictionary in maintaining data integrity and explain how the query processor interacts with it during the execution of a DML statement.

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Question 9

3 marks

A small library currently stores its book information in a simple text file. Each line in the file contains the book's title, author, ISBN, and availability status (e.g., 'Title, Author, ISBN, Available').

(a) State two limitations of using this file-based approach for managing library data.

(b) Explain how a relational database system addresses one of the limitations you identified in part (a).

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Question 10

5 marks

A company maintains a database of its projects and the employees assigned to them. The current data is stored in a single table called ProjectAssignments:

ProjectID	EmployeeID	ProjectName	EmployeeName	Department	HourlyRate
P001	E101	Website Redesign	Alice Smith	Marketing	50.00
P001	E102	Website Redesign	Bob Johnson	IT	60.00
P002	E101	Mobile App Dev	Alice Smith	Marketing	50.00
P003	E103	Database Migration	Charlie Brown	IT	75.00

The primary key for this table is a composite key: (ProjectID, EmployeeID).

(a) Explain why the ProjectAssignments table is not in Second Normal Form (2NF).

(b) Decompose the ProjectAssignments table into tables that are in Second Normal Form (2NF), clearly stating the primary key(s) and any foreign key(s) for each new table.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.

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