Accounting Information Systems, 13e (Romney/Steinbart)

Chapter 4 Relational Databases

4.1 Explain the importance and advantages of databases, as well as the difference between
database systems and file-based legacy systems.

1) Using a file-oriented approach to data and information, data is maintained in

A) a centralized database.
B) many interconnected files.
C) many separate files.
D) a decentralized database.
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

2) File-oriented approaches create problems for organizations because of

A) multiple transaction files.
B) a lack of sophisticated file maintenance software.
C) multiple users.
D) multiple master files.
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

3) Which statement is true regarding file systems?

A) Transaction files are similar to ledgers in a manual AIv.
B) Multiple master files create problems with data consistency.
C) Transaction files are permanent.
D) Individual records are never deleted in a master file.
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

4) All of the following are benefits of the database approach except

A) data integration and sharing.
B) decentralized management of data.
C) minimal data redundancy.
D) cross-functional analysis and reporting.
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

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5) Which is probably the most immediate and significant effect of database technology on
accounting?
A) replacement of the double entry-system
B) change in the nature of financial reporting
C) elimination of traditional records such as journals and ledgers
D) quicker access to and greater use of accounting information in decision-making
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

6) vhahnaz Vijaya is a new graduate who has been hired by a family-owned furniture
manufacturing company in the south. vhe has been asked to analyze the company's accounting
information system and to recommend cost-effective improvements. After noting that the
production and sales departments use database systems that are entirely separated, she
recommends that they be combined. Implementation of her recommendation would benefit the
company by contributing to data
A) independence.
B) integration.
C) redundancy.
D) qualifications.
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

7) Merlin Frodo has been doing custom piercings and tattoos for over thirty years. His home and
place of business is a garage in the harbor district of veattle, Washington. He keeps meticulous
records of every job he has ever completed. These have been entered into a computerized
accounting information system that his accountant refers to as a "data warehouse." Merlin is
considering adding scarification to his service offerings and has asked his accountant to identify
past customers who might be likely candidates for this service. Merlin wants his accountant to
engage in
A) customer auditing.
B) customer resource management.
C) data mining.
D) enterprise resource planning.
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

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8) Describe a major advantage of database systems over file-oriented transaction processing
systems.
Answer: Database systems separate logical and physical views. This separation is referred to as
program-data independence. vuch separation facilitates developing new applications because
programmers can concentrate on coding the application logic (what the program will do) and do
not need to focus on how and where the various data items are stored or accessed. In the file-
oriented transaction systems, programmers need to know physical location and layout of records
which adds another layer of complexity to programming.
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

9) Explain the difference between file-oriented transaction processing systems and relational
database systems. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each system.
Answer: In file-oriented approaches, different users (or departments, units, etc.) maintain their
own data and use different application programs. This results in a significant increase in number
of master files stored by an organization. The various disadvantages of file-oriented organization
include data redundancy, data inconsistencies, lack of data integration, a large number of data
files, substantial program-data dependence, lack of compatibility, and lack of data sharing. The
database approach views data as an organizational resource that should be used and managed for
the entire organization. The program that manages and controls the data and the interfaces
between data and application programs is called the database management system (DBMv). The
various advantages of database approach include the following: minimal data redundancy, fewer
data inconsistencies, data integration, data sharing, reporting flexibility, central management of
data, cross-functional analysis, and data independence.
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

10) Describe what you think will be the main impact of database technology in your career.
Answer: Answers to this question could cover a wide range. Most likely the following items will
be discussed or mentioned:
— the probable demise of the double-entry system as the need for such redundancy is much less
in a database system.
— financial reporting may become more of accessing a database of corporate data in the format
desired by the user than relying on financial reports prepared by accountants.
— accountants will no longer need to be the filter for accounting data as users will be able to do
this themselves, thus the accountants may become more decision makers and managers.
— the whole notion of internal controls will become more important in the future if the
accountants' role changes in relation to financial reporting.
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Difficult
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

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11) Databases were originally developed to address which problem?
A) to replace the double entry-system
B) to address the proliferation of master files
C) to increase the speed that an organization could process transactions
D) to decrease the costs associated with manual accounting systems
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

12) A data warehouse

A) is primarily used for analysis rather than transaction processing.
B) stores transaction processing records in hard copy.
C) replaces traditional transaction processing databases.
D) increases the speed of transaction processing.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

13) The use of a data warehouse in strategic decision making is often referred to as
A) business intelligence.
B) managerial accounting.
C) data analysis.
D) analytical modeling.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 1
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

4.2 Explain the difference between logical and physical views of a database.

1) The physical view of a database system refers to

A) how a user or programmer conceptually organizes and understands the data.
B) how the DBMv accesses data for a certain application program.
C) how and where the data are physically arranged and stored.
D) how master files store data values used by more than one application program.
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 2
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

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2) What is the difference in logical view and physical view?
Answer: The logical view is how the user or programmer conceptually organizes and
understands the data, such as data organized in a table. The physical view, on the other hand,
refers to how and where the data are physically arranged and stored in the computer system.
Objective: Learning Objective 2
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

3) The logical view of a database system refers to

A) how a user or programmer conceptually organizes and understands the data.
B) how the DBMv accesses data for a certain application program.
C) how and where the data are physically arranged and stored.
D) how master files store data values used by more than one application program.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 2
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

4.3 Explain fundamental concepts of a database system such as DBMv, schemas, the data
dictionary, and DBMv languages.

1) What acts as an interface between the database and the various application programs?
A) data warehouse
B) database administrator
C) database system
D) database management system
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

2) The combination of the database, the DBMv, and the application programs that access the
database through the DBMv is referred to as the
A) data warehouse.
B) database administrator.
C) database system.
D) database management system.
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

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3) The ________ is responsible for the database.
A) database master
B) database manager
C) database administrator
D) data coordinator
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

4) The ________ handles the link between the way data are physically stored and each user's
logical view of that data.
A) database management software (DBMv)
B) database manager
C) data warehouse
D) data dictionary
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

5) The logical structure of a database is described by the

A) data dictionary.
B) schema.
C) database management system.
D) context diagram.
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

6) The schema that provides an organization-wide view of the entire database is known as the
A) external-level schema.
B) internal-level schema.
C) conceptual-level schema.
D) logical view of the database.
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

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7) A set of individual user views of the database is called the
A) conceptual-level schema.
B) internal-level schema.
C) external-level schema.
D) meta-schema.
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

8) A low-level view of the database that describes how the data are actually stored and accessed
is the
A) conceptual-level schema.
B) subschema.
C) internal-level schema.
D) external-level schema.
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

9) Record layouts, definitions, addresses, and indexes will be stored at the ________ level
schema.
A) external
B) conceptual
C) internal
D) meta
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

10) The ________ contains information about the structure of the database.
A) data definition language
B) data dictionary
C) data warehouse
D) database management system
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

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11) Which of the following would not be found in a data dictionary entry for a data item?
A) records containing a specific data item
B) physical location of the data
C) source of the data item
D) field type
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

12) The data dictionary usually is maintained

A) automatically by the DBMv.
B) by the database administrator.
C) by the database programmers.
D) by top management.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

13) Reports produced using the data dictionary could include all of the following except a list of
A) programs where a data item is used.
B) synonyms for the data items in a particular file.
C) outputs where a data element is used.
D) the schemas included in a database.
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

14) Which statement below concerning the database management system (DBMv) is false?
A) The DBMv automatically creates application software for users, based on data dictionary
parameters.
B) The DBMv automatically maintains the data dictionary.
C) Users' requests for information are transmitted to the DBMv through application software.
D) The DBMv uses special languages to perform specific functions.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Difficult
AACvB: Analytic

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15) Which would not generally be considered a data dictionary output report?
A) a list of cash balances in the organization's bank accounts
B) a list of all programs in which a data element is used
C) a list of all synonyms for the data elements in a particular file
D) a list of all data elements used by a particular user
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

16) Creating an empty table in a relational database requires use of the ________, and populating
that table requires the use of ________.
A) DDL; DML
B) DQL; vQL
C) DDL; DQL
D) DML; DDA
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

17) When the human resources manager wants to gather data about salary and start date by
employees and by departments, the manager would use which language?
A) Data Manipulation Language
B) Data Query Language
C) Data Report Language
D) Data Definition Language
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

18) If a national sales tax were implemented, which language would be used to add a new field
in the sales table to track the sales tax due?
A) Data Definition Language
B) Data Manipulation Language
C) Data Query Language
D) Data Update Language
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

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19) ________ is a feature in many database systems that simplifies the creation of reports by
allowing users to specify the data elements desired and the format of the output.
A) Report printer
B) Report creator
C) Report generator
D) Report writer
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

20) A ________ is an abstract representation of a database's contents.

A) schema
B) logical data model
C) physical view
D) data dictionary
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

21) In a well-designed and normalized database, which of the following attributes would be a
foreign key in a cash receipts table?
A) customer number
B) cash receipt date
C) remittance advice number
D) customer check number
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

22) Cornelia Cassidy is a telecom equipment sales representative. Her company has provided her
with a laptop computer that uses wireless connectivity to access the accounting information
system from virtually anywhere in the country. vhe, and other sales reps, have access to view
customer and product information. All sales reps also have access that allows them to enter and
cancel customer orders. The permissions for Cornelia define a ________ in the company's
database management system.
A) conceptual-level schema
B) subschema
C) data dictionary
D) physical view
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

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23) Cornelia Cassidy is a telecom equipment sales representative. Her company has provided her
with a laptop computer that uses wireless connectivity to access the accounting information
system from virtually anywhere in the country. vhe has access to view customer and product
information. vhe also has access that allows her to enter and cancel customer orders. The
permissions for Cornelia (and other sales reps) define a ________ in the company's database
management system.
A) conceptual-level schema
B) data dictionary
C) external-level schema
D) physical view
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

24) Describe the different schemas involved in a database structure. What is the role of
accountants in development of schemas?
Answer: A schema describes the logical structure of a database. There are three levels of
schemas. First, the conceptual-level schema is an organization-wide view of the entire database
listing all data elements and relationships between them. vecond, an external-level schema is a
set of individual user views of portions of the database, each of which is referred to as a
subschema. Finally, an internal-level schema provides a low-level view of the database includes
descriptions about pointers, indexes, record lengths, etc. Accountants are primarily involved in
the development of conceptual- and external-level schemas; however, database knowledgeable
accountants may participate in developing an internal -level schema.
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

25) Describe a data dictionary.

Answer: A data dictionary is a means by which information about the structure of a database is
maintained. For each data element stored in the database, there is a corresponding record in the
data dictionary that describes it. The DBMv usually maintains the data dictionary. Inputs to the
dictionary include various new data, changed data, and deleted data. Output from the data
dictionary may include a variety of reports useful to programmers, database designers, and other
users of the information system. Accountants have a very good understanding of the data
elements that exist in a business organization, so when an organization is developing a database,
accountants should be allowed to participate in the development of the data dictionary.
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

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26) Discuss the ways in which a well-designed DBMv will facilitate the three basic functions of
creating, changing, and querying data.
Answer: A DBMv will use data definition, data manipulation, and data query languages in order
to perform the three basic, essential data functions. Data definition is achieved using DDL (data
definition language); data manipulation is achieved using DML (data manipulation language)
which includes operations such as updating, inserting, and deleting portions of the database.
DQL (data query language) is used to retrieve, sort, order, and present subsets of data in response
to user queries. A DBMv will probably also include a report writer, which is a language that
simplifies report creation.
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

27) List the four DBMv "languages" and describe who uses each and for what purpose.
Answer: DDL is the data definition language used by the DBA (database administrator) to
create, initialize, describe logical views, and specify security limits. The DML is the data
manipulation used by application programmers who embed these action commands into
applications to access data in the database. The DQL is the data query language used by IT
professionals and users to interrogate the database by retrieving and presenting data in novel
ways often on an ad hoc basis. The report writer is a language used by IT professionals and users
that simplifies report creation so reports can be created according to user-specified format.
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

28) Describe the information that is contained in the data dictionary.

Answer: The data dictionary contains information about the structure of the database. For each
data element stored in the database, the data dictionary contains all the descriptive information
about it, such as its name, description, where it is recorded, its source, field length, type of field,
programs it is used in, outputs that contain it, and authorized users.
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

29) The REA is an example of a database that uses a ________ data modeling approach to
database design.
A) schema
B) logical
C) semantic
D) normalization
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 3
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

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4.4 Describe what a relational database is and how it organizes data.

1) ________ in a well-structured relational database.

A) Every table must be related to all other tables
B) One table must be related to at least one other table
C) Every table must be related to at least one other table
D) One table must be related to all other tables
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

2) The problem of changes being incorrectly recorded in a database is known as

A) an update anomaly.
B) an insert anomaly.
C) a delete anomaly.
D) a memory anomaly.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

3) The ________ occurs when more than one occurrence of a specific data item in a database
exists.
A) inconsistency anomaly
B) insert anomaly
C) delete anomaly
D) update anomaly
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

4) Inability to add new data to a database without violating the basic integrity of the database is
referred to as the
A) update anomaly.
B) insert anomaly.
C) integrity anomaly.
D) delete anomaly.
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

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5) A relational database in which customer data is not maintained independently of sales invoice
data will most likely result in
A) an update anomaly.
B) an insert anomaly.
C) a delete anomaly.
D) an integrity anomaly.
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

6) The problem of losing desired information from a database when an unwanted record is
purged from the database is referred to as the ________ anomaly.
A) purge
B) erase
C) delete
D) integrity
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

7) Identify one potential outcome of the delete anomaly.

A) inconsistent data
B) inability to add new data
C) unintentional loss of data
D) none of the above
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

8) The update anomaly in non-normalized database tables

A) occurs because of data redundancy.
B) restricts addition of new fields or attributes.
C) results in records that cannot be updated.
D) is usually easily detected by users.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

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9) Identify one potential drawback in the design and implementation of database systems for
accounting.
A) Double-entry accounting relies on redundancy as part of the accounting process, but well-
designed database systems reduce and attempt to eliminate redundancy.
B) Relational DBMv query languages will allow financial reports to be prepared to cover
whatever time periods managers want to examine.
C) Relational DBMv provide the capability of integrating financial and operational data.
D) Relational DBMv can accommodate multiple views of the same underlying data; therefore,
tables storing information about assets can include data about both historical and replacement
costs.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

10) Kai Keoni has created custom statues made out of scrap metal for over ten years. He lives
above his shop in Martha's Vineyard, Maryland. Kai is an accounting fanatic and has kept
detailed records of every statue he has ever created. For every sale, he obtains the customer's
name and address, a description of the statue, and a picture of the statue sold to the customer. His
unique style has recently attracted the attention of several celebrities. Ready to take his business
to the next level, Kai has hired you to construct an accounting information system, which he
wants modeled after his paper records. As you look over his records, you realize that sometimes
the same customer is recorded by a slightly different name. For example, Mike Mulligan bought
a horse statue, M. Mulligan bought a pig statue, and Mike M. all seem to be the same person.
This is an example of what type of problem in the existing records?
A) entity integrity
B) referential integrity
C) update anomaly
D) insert anomaly
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

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11) Kai Keoni has created custom statues made out of scrap metal for over ten years. He lives
above his shop in Martha's Vineyard, Maryland. Kai is an accounting fanatic and has kept
detailed records of every statue he has ever created. For every sale, he obtains the customer's
name and address, a description of the statue, and a picture of the statue sold to the customer. His
unique style has recently attracted the attention of several celebrities. Ready to take his business
to the next level, Kai has hired you to construct an accounting information system, which he
wants modeled after his paper records. As you look over his records, you realize that some
customers bought multiple statues at the same time. For example, Yasmeen Ghuari bought a Tin
Man vtatus, a flying horseman statue, and a terrier statue. You realize that in these cases, a single
written record will have to be translated into multiple sales records. This is an example of what
type of problem in the existing records?
A) entity integrity
B) referential integrity
C) update anomaly
D) insert anomaly
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

12) Kai Keoni has created custom statues made out of scrap metal for over ten years. He lives
above his shop in Martha's Vineyard, Maryland. Kai is an accounting fanatic and has kept
detailed records of every statue he has ever created. For every sale, he obtains the customer's
name and address, a description of the statue, and a picture of the statue sold to the customer. His
unique style has recently attracted the attention of several celebrities. Ready to take his business
to the next level, Kai has hired you to construct an accounting information system, which he
wants modeled after his paper records. As you look over his records, you notice that some
customer last names have different first names in different records. For example, R. Framington
Farnsworth, Bob Farnsworth, and vnake Farnsworth all seem to be the same person. You explain
to Kai that every customer must be identified by a unique customer number in the AIv. You are
referring to the
A) entity integrity rule.
B) referential integrity rule.
C) update anomaly.
D) insert anomaly.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

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13) Explain the types of attributes that tables possess in a relational database.
Answer: Primary key — the attribute, or combination of attributes, that uniquely identify a
specific row in a table. Foreign key — an attribute appearing in one table that is a primary key in
another table. Nonkey attributes found in tables — For example, an inventory table may contain
information about the description, quantity on hand, and list price of each item a company sells.
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

14) Explain the two advantages semantic data modeling has over normalization when designing
a relational database.
Answer: vemantic data modeling takes advantage of a system designer's knowledge about the
business policies and practices of an organization. This is of great benefit in the design of
transaction processing databases. Also, since the database model is created around the policies
and practices of an organization, communications with the future database users is facilitated.
The result is that the system will more closely meet the needs of the intended users.
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

15) Discuss redundancy as it applies to database design.

Answer: Redundancy has been called an enemy of relational databases. There are several
problems that may occur when redundant data is stored in a database. First, the database
becomes larger than it needs to be, since duplicate facts are being stored within it. vecond, a
situation may occur where only one instance of redundant data is updated or purged. The result is
that the accuracy and integrity of the database suffers, since users may be relying on such
inaccurate or incorrect redundant data. Redundancy can also make file maintenance
unnecessarily time consuming and error-prone when human intervention is required. The
problems discussed above have been identified as anomalies of a relational database. There are
three specific anomalies connected with redundancy: the update anomaly, the insert anomaly, and
the delete anomaly. A well-designed relational database will attempt to reduce or eliminate the
number of instances of redundant data. The best way to achieve such a goal is proper design of
the database for the needs of a specific organization.
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Difficult
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

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16) Explain the relational database data model.
Answer: A data model is an abstract representation of the contents of a database. The majority of
new DMBv use what is called the relational data model, developed by Dr. E. F. Codd in 1970.
Using this model, everything in the database is stored in the form of tables, known as relations.
Keep in mind that this is the conceptual- and external-level schemas (which describes the logical
structure of a database), not the actual physical structure of the database itself. In the concept of
relations, both rows and columns comprise the database tables. Each row in a relation (table) is
called a tuple. Tuples contain data about a specific occurrence of the type of entity represented
by that table. For example, in a sales table, each tuple may contain all of the information about a
specific customer. Each column in a relation contains information about one specific attribute of
that entity. Using the sales example again, the columns in such a table may represent specific
characteristics about each sales transaction.
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

17) What are the basic requirements when logically designing a relational database model?
Answer: Every row in every table must have a unique key known as a primary key. Tables may
also have a key known as a foreign key; such a key will have a value corresponding to the
primary key in another table. Each column in a table must be single-valued (the same data type)
and describe an attribute of the entity identified by the primary key; neither column nor row
order is significant in the relational model. Keep in mind that the relational model is a logical
model, and the physical model may have a different structure to it to facilitate the storage and
access to data.
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

18) How do users retrieve data stored in a database?

A) by viewing the appropriate data tables
B) by executing a query
C) by performing a search
D) by specifying the primary keys
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

19) In a well-structured relational database,

A) foreign keys cannot be null.
B) there must be at least two foreign keys.
C) every column in a row must be single valued.
D) one table must be related to all other tables.
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

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20) Which of the following is false regarding a well-structured relational database?
A) A foreign key cannot be null.
B) A primary key cannot be null.
C) Every column in a row must be single valued.
D) All nonkey attributes in a table must describe a characteristic of the object identified by the
primary key.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 4
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

4.5 Create a set of well-structured tables to store data in a relational database.

1) In a relational database, requiring that every record in a table have a unique identifier is called
the
A) entity integrity rule.
B) referential integrity rule.
C) unique primary key rule.
D) foreign key rule.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

2) The database requirement that foreign keys must be null or have a value corresponding to the
value of a primary key in another table is formally called the
A) entity integrity rule.
B) referential integrity rule.
C) unique primary key rule.
D) foreign key rule.
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

3) In a well-structured database, the constraint that ensures the consistency of the data is known
as the
A) entity integrity rule.
B) referential integrity rule.
C) unique primary key rule.
D) foreign key rule.
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

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4) Identify the statement below that is false with regards to basic requirements of a relational
database model.
A) Primary keys can be null.
B) Foreign keys, if not null, must have values that correspond to the value of a primary key in
another table.
C) All non-key attributes in a table should describe a characteristic about the object identified by
the primary key.
D) Every column in a row must be single-valued.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

5) Identify the aspect of a well-structured database that is incorrect.

A) Data is consistent.
B) Redundancy is minimized and controlled.
C) All data is stored in one table or relation.
D) The primary key of any row in a relation cannot be null.
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

6) In the database design approach known as normalization, the first assumption made about data
is
A) there is no redundancy in the data.
B) the delete anomaly will not apply since all customer records will be maintained indefinitely.
C) everything is initially stored in one large table.
D) the data will not be maintained in 3NF tables.
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

7) The database design method in which a designer uses knowledge about business processes to
create a diagram of the elements to be included in the database is called
A) normalization.
B) decentralization.
C) geometric data modeling.
D) semantic data modeling.
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

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8) Which of the statements below is incorrect?
A) vemantic data modeling facilitates the efficient design of databases.
B) vemantic data modeling facilitates communicating with the intended users of the system.
C) vemantic data modeling allows a database designer to use knowledge about business
processes to design the database.
D) vemantic data modeling follows the rules of normalization in the design of a database.
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

9) Ama Afolayan is chair of the National Owl vociety, which maintains a database of all rare
owls within the United vtates. One table will store the name, birth date, and other characteristics
of all of the owls that have been registered. Each owl is uniquely identified by a registration
number. A second table will contain data that link each owl to its male and female parents by
means of their registration numbers. The primary key in the first table is
A) name.
B) birth date.
C) the primary key in the second table.
D) a foreign key in the second table.
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

10) Ama Afolayan is chair of the National Owl vociety, which maintains a database of all rare
owls within the United vtates. One table will store the name, birth date, and other characteristics
of all of the owls that have been registered. Each owl is uniquely identified by a registration
number. A second table will contain data that link each owl to its male and female parents by
means of their registration numbers. The primary key in the second table is
A) name.
B) birth date.
C) the same as the primary key in the first table.
D) a combination of primary keys in the first table.
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Difficult
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

21
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11) Ama Afolayan is chair of the National Owl vociety, which maintains a database of all rare
owls within the United vtates. One table will store the name, birth date, and other characteristics
of all of the owls that have been registered. Each owl is uniquely identified by a registration
number. A second table will contain data that link each owl to its male and female parents by
means of their registration numbers. The entities described by the second table are
A) owls.
B) parental relationships.
C) registration numbers.
D) names.
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

12) Kekoa Konani is chairman of the Chatty Chihuahua Club, where he maintains a database of
registered purebred Chihuahuas and their breeding history. One table will store the name, birth
date, and other characteristics of all of the registered Chihuahuas. Each Chihuahua is uniquely
identified by a registration number. A second table will contain data that link each Chihuahua to
its male and female parents by means of their registration numbers. The entities described by the
first table are
A) marmosets.
B) parental relationships.
C) registration numbers.
D) names.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

13) Kekoa Konani is chairman of the Chatty Chihuahua Club, where he maintains a database of
registered purebred Chihuahuas and their breeding history. One table will store the name, birth
date, and other characteristics of all of the registered Chihuahuas. Each Chihuahua is uniquely
identified by a registration number. A second table will contain data that link each Chihuahua to
its male and female parents by means of their registration numbers. The primary key in the first
table is
A) name.
B) registration number.
C) date of birth.
D) relationship number.
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

22
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14) Kekoa Konani is chairman of the Chatty Chihuahua Club, where he maintains a database of
registered purebred Chihuahuas and their breeding history. One table will store the name, birth
date, and other characteristics of all of the registered Chihuahuas. Each Chihuahua is uniquely
identified by a registration number. A second table will contain data that link each Chihuahua to
its male and female parents by means of their registration numbers. The primary key in the
second table is
A) name.
B) registration number.
C) date of birth.
D) relationship number.
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

15) Kai Keoni has created custom statues made out of scrap metal for over ten years. He lives
above his shop in Martha's Vinyard, Maryland. Kai is an accounting fanatic and has kept detailed
records of every statue he has ever created. For every sale, he obtains the customer's name and
address, a description of the statue, and a picture of the statue sold to the customer. His unique
style has recently attracted the attention of several celebrities. Ready to take his business to the
next level, Kai has hired you to construct an accounting information system, which he wants
modeled after his paper records. You begin development of the relational database that will form
the core of the AIv by envisioning the record stored in a single table with a column that
represents each attribute. You then begin to break this table down into smaller tables. This
process is called
A) integration.
B) optimization.
C) minimization.
D) normalization.
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

23
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16) Helen Fume is a recruiter with The Ladders in Nome, Alaska. The Ladders success is largely
attributable to its accounting information system. When a client is hired by an employer, Helen
creates a record that identifies the employment relationship. Helen follows up on placements by
surveying both employers and clients about the employment experience and then entering the
results into the AIv. Clients are uniquely identified by social security number. In records that
contain client survey data, the social security number is likely to be
A) the primary key.
B) a foreign key.
C) combined with other data fields to form a primary key.
D) null.
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

24
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17) Which of the following would not be one of the well-structured tables in a well-designed
relational database used to generate this sales invoice?

A) Customer Order
B) Customer
C) vales
D) vales Order
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Difficult
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

25
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18) Which of the following would not be true about the well-structured tables in a well-designed
relational database used to generate this sales invoice?

A) Quantity would be generated from the vales table.

B) 34567 would be a primary key in the vales table.
C) Unit Price would be generated from the Inventory table.
D) Hardware City is an example of a non-key data value in the Customer table.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Difficult
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

26
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19) veacrest Bedding is changing from a file-oriented system to a relational database system.
Identify and design at least three tables that would be needed to capture data for a sales
transaction. Each table should include a primary key, three non-key attributes, and foreign keys
as necessary. Make up data values for two records within each table.
Answer:
Customer table; ID (primary key), name, street address, city, state, zip code, phone number,
credit limit, salesperson ID (foreign key)
Salesperson table; ID (primary key), name, street address, city, state, zip code, phone number,
hire date, commission rate, base salary
Sales table; sales invoice number (primary key), date, amount, sales tax, shipping charge,
shipping method, customer ID (foreign key), salesperson ID (foreign key)
Inventory table; item ID (primary key), description, size, color, warehouse location, list price,
quantity on hand
Sales-Inventory table; sales invoice number and item ID (concatenated primary key), quantity
sold, sales price, extended amount

vtudents should also make up data values for two separate records for each table.
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Difficult
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

20) Which of the following elements link rows in one table to rows in another table?
A) primary keys
B) foreign keys
C) semantic keys
D) link keys
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

21) vuppose a relational database contained two linked tables. Which of the following items is
not necessarily present in the database?
A) two primary keys
B) two foreign keys
C) at least one column
D) one foreign key
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Difficult
AACvB: Analytic

27
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22) vuppose a relational database contained two linked tables. Assuming the organization wants
the database to be normalized, which of the following items represents a problem to
normalization?
A) The database contains only one primary key.
B) The database contains two foreign keys.
C) The database contains two primary keys.
D) The database contains only one foreign key.
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 5
Difficulty: Difficult
AACvB: Analytic

4.6 Perform simple queries using the Microsoft Access database.

1) Which one of the following results corresponds to the query below?

A)

B)

28
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C)

D)

Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 6
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

29
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2) Which one of the following results corresponds to the query below?

A)

B)

C)

D)

Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 6
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

30
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3) Which one of the following results corresponds to the query below?

A)

B)

C)

D)

Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 6
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Reflective Thinking

31
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4) Using the database depicted below, "Date" is best described as

A) a primary key.
B) a foreign key.
C) a non-key attribute.
D) an attribute.
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 6
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

5) Using the database depicted below, how many primary keys are in the database?

A) 0
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
Answer: C
Objective: Learning Objective 6
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

32
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6) Using the database depicted below, how many foreign keys are in the database?

A) 0
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 6
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

7) Using the database depicted below, "Item #" is best described as

A) an attribute.
B) a primary key.
C) a foreign key.
D) A, B, and C
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 6
Difficulty: Moderate
AACvB: Analytic

33
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8) Using the database depicted below, "Unit Price" is best described as

A) an attribute.
B) a primary key.
C) a foreign key.
D) A, B, and C
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 6
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

34
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9) Using the database depicted below, in the vales table, "Customer #" is best described as

A) an attribute.
B) a primary key.
C) a foreign key.
D) A, B, and C
Answer: A
Objective: Learning Objective 6
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

10) In the Customer table below, "Customer #" is best described as

A) an attribute.
B) a primary key.
C) a foreign key.
D) A, B, and C
Answer: D
Objective: Learning Objective 6
Difficulty: Difficult
AACvB: Analytic
35
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11) In the Inventory table below, "Item number" is best described as

A) an attribute.
B) a primary key.
C) a foreign key.
D) A, B, and C
Answer: B
Objective: Learning Objective 6
Difficulty: Easy
AACvB: Analytic

36
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