Faculty of Information & Media Studies
LIS 558 - Summer 2000
Diagnostic Quiz
Please complete the following 30 multiple choice questions. You have fifteen minutes. This Quiz is for diagnostic purposes only.
1. The conceptual model is ______
a. independent of software, but not hardware.
b. independent of hardware, but not software.
c. independent both of software and hardware.
d. dependent upon both hardware and software.
2. The ______provides the macro view of an organization’s data requirements and operations.
a. E-R diagram
b. normalization procedure
c. dependency diagram
d. schema definition
3. Potential damage from data redundancies can be minimized by ______.
a. proper implementation
b. careful control
c. use of foreign keys
d. all of the above
4. Each United States President may be associated with many Congresses, and any given Congress may serve with more than one President (for example, the Congress that served both J.F. Kennedy and L.B. Johnson). This is an example of which kind of relationship?
a. 1:1
b. 1:M
c. M:N
d. M:1
5. The essence of the design process is
a. learning how to listen.
b. drawing elegant E-R diagrams.
c. asking the right questions.
d. knowing the hardware requirements.
6. Some of the important functions of the database guarantee the ______and the ______of the data in the database.
a. integrity, anomaly
b. integrity, consistency
c. integrity, variability
d. integrity, security
7. A good database design begins with a good
a. programming staff.
b. data model.
c. set of data structures.
d. applications team.
8. The following statements are all advantages of E-R Diagrams, EXCEPT:
a. E-R Diagrams provide an effective communication tool.
b. E-R Diagrams offer an exceptional conceptual simplicity.
c. E-R Diagrams provide integration with the relational database model.
d. None of the above.
9. What is the process that helps reduce data redundancy, and therefore anomalies, by assigning attributes to entities?
a. Database design
b. Conceptual modeling
c. Normalization
d. Internal modeling
10. The primary objective of database design is
a. to produce complete and normalized database models.
b. to create nonredundant database models.
c. to create fully integrated database models.
d. all of the above.
11. Which of the following is NOT a component of the E-R data model?
a. Process
b. Entity
c. Attribute
d. Relationship
12. The external model is best described as the ______view of the data environment.
a. end user’s
b. designer’s
c. database programmer’s
d. database administrator’s
13. What does logical design mean?
a. It is a detailed study of the database environment.
b. It represents the development of a new database.
c. It is the structural blueprint of the database.
d. It focuses on how computer applications use the database.
14. Good database design begins by ______.
a. determining the cost of the project.
b. hiring a database programmer.
c. identifying appropriate entities and attributes.
d. producing a system catalog.
15. A condition in which given data always yields the same result in a database is called data ______.
a. independence
b. consistency
c. integrity
d. redundancy
16. The process of database design is a(n) ______rather than a linear process.
a. iterative
b. sequential
c. progressive
d. successive
17. Which of the following is necessary for a table to exhibit "entity integrity"?
a. Not have a null in the primary key.
b. Have a primary key that uniquely identifies each row.
c. Not have any part of a composite primary key be null.
d. All of the above.
18. Building an E-R diagram usually begins with
a. the end users discovering how their organization really works.
b. deciding which DBMS to use.
c. a general narrative of the organization’s operations and procedures.
d. drawing the E-R diagram and flow charts.
19. A database model is a collection of ______constructs.
a. physical
b. technical
c. logical
d. related
20. A DBMS provides storage not only for the data, but also for
a. related data entry forms.
b. report definitions.
c. data validation rules.
d. all of the above.
21. Proper database design requires the database designer to precisely identify the database’s expected ______.
a. integrity
b. speed
c. use
d. lifetime
22. Sometimes the highest level of normalization conflicts with the need for
a. fast performance.
b. eliminating data anomalies.
c. minimized data redundancy.
d. data security.
23. All attributes must be dependent on the primary key, but they must be ______each other.
a. related to
b. also dependent upon
c. independent of
d. subordinate to
24. The ______relationship is the relational ideal and constitutes the relational database’s main building block.
a. 1:1
b. 1:M
c. M:N
d. M:1
25. When considering denormalization, the advantage of higher processing speed must be carefully weighed against the disadvantage of ______.
a. spending extra time to denormalize
b. making database querying more difficult
c. using less disk space
d. allowing data anomalies
26. How does data redundancy foster abnormal conditions on the database?
a. By duplicating efforts for designing the database.
b. By relying on the integrity of data.
c. By creating two entries for all new data.
d. By forcing database administrators to change values in multiple locations.
27. Why is a table whose primary key consists of only a single attribute automatically in 2NF if it is in 1NF?
a. Because all relational tables are, by default, in 1NF.
b. Because all relational tables are, by default, in 2NF.
c. Because transitive dependencies cannot exist when the tables are in 2NF.
d. Because a partial dependency can only exist if there are several attributes in the primary key.
28. A partial dependency can exist only if a table’s primary key is composed of
a. three or more attributes.
b. several attributes.
c. one attribute.
d. non-prime attributes.
29. Conflicts over design efficiency are often resolved through compromises which include ______.
a. diagramming
b. decomposition
c. denormalization
d. documentation
30. The word ______in the ER model corresponds to a table and not a row in the relational environment.
a. entity instance
b. entity
c. entity occurrence
d. attribute
Faculty of Information and Media Studies
The University of Western Ontario
LIS 558 - Summer 2000
First Quiz Answers
Faculty of Information and Media Studies
The University of Western Ontario
LIS 558 - Summer 2000
1. c
2. a
3. d
4. c
5. c
6. b
7. b
8. d
9. c
10. d
11. a
12. a
13. c
14. c
15. c
16. a
17. d
18. c
19. c
20. d
21. c
22. a
23. c
24. b
25. d
26. d
27. d
28. b
29. c
30. b
Faculty of Information and Media Studies
The University of Western Ontario
LIS 558 - Summer 2000
Faculty of Information and Media Studies
The University of Western Ontario