Deck 9: Normalizing Database Designs

Question 1

Normalization is a very important database design ingredient and the highest level is always the most desirable.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

All relational tables satisfy the 1NF requirements.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A table is in fourth normal form if it is in third normal form and has no independent multivalued dependencies.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Converting a database format from 1NF to 2NF is a complex process.

Question 5

Dependencies that are based on only a part of a composite primary key are called transitive dependencies.

Question 6

In order to meet performance requirements, you may have to denormalize portions of the database design.

Question 7

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

Question 8

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

Question 9

Normalization works through a series of stages called normal forms.

Question 10

It is possible for a table in 2NF to exhibit transitive dependency, where the primary key may rely on one or more nonprime attributes to functionally determine other nonprime attributes.

Question 11

Relational models view the data as part of a table or collection of tables in which all key values must be identified.

Question 12

Denormalization produces a lower normal form.

Question 13

Dependency diagrams are very helpful in getting a bird's-eye view of all the relationships among a table's attributes.

Question 14

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

Question 15

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

Question 16

A table is in 2NF if it is in 1NF and it includes no partial dependencies.

Question 17

A determinant is any attribute whose value determines other values within a column.

Question 18

Normalization produces a lower normal form.

Question 19

With partial dependencies, data redundancies occur because every row entry requires duplication of data.

Question 20

Because a partial dependency can exist only if a table's primary key is composed of several attributes, if a table in 1NF has a single-attribute primary key, then the table is automatically in 2NF.

Question 21

A(n) ____ exists when there are functional dependencies such that Y is functionally dependent on X and Z is functionally dependent on Y, and X is the primary key.

A) partial dependency
B) repeating group
C) atomic attribute
D) transitive dependency

Question 22

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.

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five

Question 23

____ yields better performance.

A) Denormalization
B) Normalization
C) Atomization
D) Compression

Question 24

Normalization should be part of the design process.

Question 25

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

A) 1NF
B) 3NF
C) BCNF
D) DKNF

Question 26

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

A) important
B) nonprime
C) prime
D) entity

Question 27

A dependency of one nonprime attribute on another nonprime attribute is a partial dependency.

Question 28

Unnormalized database tables often lead to various data redundancy disasters in production databases.

Question 29

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

Question 30

Normalization purity is easy to sustain in the modern database environment.

Question 31

Data redundancy produces ____.

A) slower lookups
B) robust design
C) efficient storage use
D) data integrity problems

Question 32

Attribute A ____ attribute B if all of the rows in the table that agree in value for attribute A also agree in value for attribute B.

A) determines
B) derives from
C) controls
D) owns

Question 33

A good relational DBMS excels at managing denormalized relations.

Question 34

A table that displays data redundancies yields ____.

A) consistencies
B) anomalies
C) fewer attributes
D) more entities

Question 35

Some very specialized applications may require normalization beyond the ____.

A) 1NF
B) 2NF
C) 3NF
D) 4NF

Question 36

From a structural point of view, 2NF is better than ____.

A) 1NF
B) 3NF
C) 4NF
D) BCNF

Question 37

The advantage of higher processing speed must be carefully weighed against the disadvantage of data anomalies.

Question 38

Atomic attributes are attributes that can be further subdivided.

Question 39

Attributes should clearly define participation, connectivity, and document cardinality.

Question 40

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

Question 41

According to naming conventions described in Chapter 2, ____ would be the best name for a column representing the charges per hour in a table named JOB.

A) JOB_CHG_HOUR
B) CHARGES_PER_HOUR_FOR_JOB
C) CHARGES_PER_HOUR
D) CHG_HR

Question 42

An atomic attribute ____.

A) cannot exist in a relational table
B) cannot be further subdivided
C) displays multiplicity
D) is always chosen to be a foreign key

Question 43

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

A) 1NF
B) 2NF
C) 3NF
D) 4NF

Question 44

Improving ____ leads to more flexible queries.

A) atomicity
B) normalization
C) denormalization
D) derived attributes

Question 45

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

A) derived
B) atomic
C) granular
D) historical

Question 46

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 ____.

A) 1NF
B) 2NF
C) 3NF
D) 4NF

Question 47

Before converting a table into 3NF, it is imperative the table already be in ____.

A) 1NF
B) 2NF
C) 4NF
D) BCNF

Question 48

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

A) BCNF
B) 2NF
C) 3NF
D) 4NF

Question 49

If you have three different transitive dependencies, ____ different determinant(s) exist.

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four

Question 50

Dependencies based on only a part of a composite primary key are called ____ dependencies.

A) primary
B) partial
C) incomplete
D) composite

Question 51

For most business transactional databases, we should normalize relations into ____.

A) 1NF
B) 2NF
C) 3NF
D) 6NF

Question 52

In a(n) ____ diagram, the arrows above the attributes indicate all desirable dependencies.

A) Chen
B) dependency
C) functionality
D) ER

Question 53

In a real-world environment, we must strike a balance between design integrity and ____.

A) robustness
B) flexibility
C) uniqueness
D) ease of use

Question 54

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.

A) Boyce-Codd Normal Form
B) redundancy
C) time-variance
D) partial dependencies

Question 55

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.

A) partial dependency
B) transitive dependency
C) repeating group
D) primary key

Question 56

To generate a surrogate key, Microsoft Access uses a(n) ____ data type.

A) surrogate
B) sequence
C) AutoNumber
D) identity

Question 57

A table where every determinant is a candidate key is said to be in ____.

A) BCNF
B) 2NF
C) 3NF
D) 4NF

Question 58

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

A) Character
B) Date
C) Logical
D) Numeric

Question 59

Granularity refers to ____.

A) the size of a table
B) the level of detail represented by the values stored in a table's row
C) the number of attributes in a table
D) the number of rows in a table

Question 60

A relational table must not contain a(n) ____.

A) entity
B) attribute
C) relationship
D) repeating group

Question 61

A table where all attributes are dependent on the primary key and are independent of each other, and no row contains two or more multivalued facts about an entity, is said to be in ____.

A) 1NF
B) 2NF
C) 3NF
D) 4NF

Question 62

A relational table must not contain ____________________ groups.

Question 63

Most designers consider the BCNF as a special case of the ____.

A) 1NF
B) 2NF
C) 3NF
D) 4NF

Question 64

Normalization works through a series of stages called ____________________ forms.

Question 65

Dependencies can be identified with the help of a dependency ____________________.

Question 66

BCNF can be violated only if the table contains more than one ____ key.

A) primary
B) candidate
C) foreign
D) secondary

Question 67

A table is in 4NF if it is in 3NF and ____.

A) all attributes must be dependent on the primary key, and must be dependent on each other
B) all attributes are unrelated
C) has no multivalued dependencies
D) no column contains the same values

Question 68

A dependency based on only a part of a composite primary key is called a(n) ____________________.

Question 69

When designing a database, you should ____.

A) make sure entities are in normal form before table structures are created
B) create table structures then normalize the database
C) only normalize the database when performance problems occur
D) consider more important issues such as performance before normalizing

Question 70

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.

Question 71

Any attribute that is at least part of a key is known as a(n) ____________________.

Question 72

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

Question 73

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

Question 74

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

A) entities
B) attributes
C) relationships
D) forms

Question 75

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.

A) transitive
B) 3NF
C) component
D) temporary

Question 76

____ databases reflect the ever-growing demand for greater scope and depth in the data on which decision support systems increasingly rely.

A) Normalized
B) Data warehouse
C) Temporary
D) Report

Question 77

In order to meet ____________________ requirements, you may have to denormalize some portion of the database.

Question 78

The conflicts between design efficiency, information requirements, and processing speed are often resolved through ____.

A) conversion from 1NF to 2NF
B) conversion from 2NF to 3NF
C) compromises that include denormalization
D) conversion from 3NF to 4NF

Question 79

The problem with transitive dependencies is that they still yield data ____________________.

Question 80

____________________ is a process to help reduce the likelihood of data anomalies.