C&IT 180

 

Introduction to Systems Design

 

Sample Exam #2


True/False Questions

50 questions @ 1 point each = 50 points

 

1.         An entity is something about which the business needs to store data.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 295  

 

2.         An attribute is a descriptive property or characteristic of an entity.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 295  

 

3.         Example data types include: numbers, text, memo, date, time, yes/no, Boolean, value set, or image.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 296  

 

4.         A key is an attribute, or group of attributes, that assumes a unique value for each entity instance.  It is sometimes called an identifier.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 296  

 

5.         An alternate key is that candidate key that will most commonly be used to uniquely identify a single entity instance.

Answer: False        LOD: Medium        Page: 298  

    Response: .A primary key is that candidate key that will most commonly be used to uniquely identify a single entity instance.

 

6.         A relationship is a natural business association that exists between one or more entities.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 298  

 

7.         All data model relationships are unidirectional.

Answer: False        LOD: Medium        Page: 298  

    Response: Relationships are bi-directional.

 

8.         A recursive relationship identifies a relationship that may exist between different instances of the same entity.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 300  

 

9.         A foreign key in a child entity always matches the primary key in the parent entity.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 301  

 

10.       An entity subtype is an entity whose instances inherit some common attributes from an entity supertype and then add other attributes that are unique to an instance of the subtype.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 307  

 

11.       A good data model is essentially redundant to ensure data integrity.

Answer: False        LOD: Medium        Page: 322  

    Response: A good data model is essentially nonredundant.

 

12.       Data analysis is a process that prepares a logical model for implementation as a redundant, explicit, and finite database through a technique called generalization.

Answer: False        LOD: Medium        Page: 322  

    Response: Data analysis is a process that prepares a data model for implementation as a simple, nonredundant, flexible and adaptable database through a technique called normalization.

 

13.       Process modeling is a technique for organizing and documenting the structure and flow of data through a system's processes and /or the logic, policies and procedures to be implemented by a system's processes.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 344  

 

14.       Logical models show not only what a system is or does, but also how the system is implemented.

Answer: False        LOD: Medium        Page: 344  

    Response: Physical models show not only what a system is or does, but also how the system is implemented; therefore, they are implementation dependent.  Logical models are implementation independent.

 

15.       An entity relationship diagram (ERD) is a tool that depicts the flow of data through a system and the work or processing performed by that system.

Answer: False        LOD: Medium        Page: 345  

    Response: A data flow diagram (DFD) is a tool that depicts the flow of data through a system and the work or processing performed by that system.  The DFD is a representation of the process model.  An entity relationship diagram (ERD) is a representation of the data model.

 

16.       A process is work performed on, or in response to, incoming data flows or conditions.  A synonym is transform.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 347  

 

17.       Decomposition is the act of breaking a system into component subsystems, processes and subprocesses.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 348  

 

18.       Primitive processes are the lowest level of detail when depicted in a process model.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 351  

 

19.       Structured English is a language and syntax, based on the relative strengths of structured programming and natural English, for specifying the underlying logic of elementary processes on process models such as data flow diagrams.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 352  

 

20.       A composite data flow is a data flow that consists of other data flows.  They are used to combine similar data flows on high-level data flow diagrams to make those diagrams easier to read.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 357  

 

21.       The packet concept is critical to the creation of data flow diagrams.  Data that should travel together should be shown as a single data flow, no matter how many physical documents or attributes are included in the data flow.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 357  

 

22.       Data stores are data in motion, and data flows are data at rest.

Answer: False        LOD: Medium        Page: 366  

    Response: Data flows are data in motion, and data stores are data at rest.

 

23.       Balancing is the synchronizing of data flow diagrams at different levels of detail to preserve consistency and completeness of the models.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 384  

 

24.       An external agent defines a person, organization unit, other system or other organization that lies outside the scope of the project but that interacts with the system being studied.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy        Page: 363  

 

25.       An object is something that is or is capable of being seen, touched, or otherwise sensed, and about which users store data and associate behavior.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 431  

 

26.       Behavior refers to those things that the object can do and that correspond to functions that act on the object's data (or attributes).  This is commonly referred to as a method, operation or service.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 432  

 

27.       Object-oriented analysis (OOA) techniques are used to (1) study existing objects to see if they can be reused or adapted for new uses; and (2) define new or modified objects that will be combined with existing objects into a useful business computing application.

Answer: True        LOD: Medium             Page: 430  

 

28.       Inheritance means that methods and attributes defined in an object class can be inherited or reused by another object class.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 434  

 

29.       Encapsulation means "many forms." Applied to object-oriented techniques, it means that the same named behavior may be completed differently for different objects/classes.

Answer: False        LOD: Medium             Page: 438  

    Response: Polymorphism means "many forms."  Applied to object-oriented techniques, it means that the same named behavior may be completed differently for different objects/classes.

 

30.       Class diagrams depict the system's object structure.  They show object classes that the system is composed of as well as the relationships between those classes.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 441  

 

31.       Activity diagrams are used to graphically depict the sequential flow of activities of either a business process or a use case.  They can also be used to model actions that will be performed when an operation is executing as well as the results of those actions.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 442  

 

32.       Deployment diagrams describe the physical architecture of the hardware and software in the system.  They depict the software components, processors and devices that make up the system's architecture.


Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 442  

 

33.       A class diagram is used to graphically depict the objects and their associations and relationships, including: multiplicity, associations, generalization/specialization relationships, and aggregation relationships.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 441  

 

34.       Attributes are the data that represents characteristics of interest about an object.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 431  

 

35.       Use case diagrams graphically depict the interactions between the system and external systems and users.  In other words, they graphically describe who will use the system and in what ways the user expects to interact with the system.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 441  

 

36.       An object instance is a specific person, place, thing or event, as well as the values for the attributes of that object.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 431  

37.       Multiplicity is the minimum and maximum number of occurrences of one class for a single occurrence of the related class.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 436  

 

38.       Duplication of data items in multiple files is normally cited as the principal disadvantage of file-based systems.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 549  

39.       Conventional files are relatively difficult to design and implement because they are normally designed for use with multiple applications or information systems.

Answer: False        LOD: Medium             Page: 548  

    Response: Conventional files are relatively easy to design and implement because they are normally designed for use with a single application or information system.

 

40.       As enterprise systems and applications are re-engineered, the trend is overwhelmingly in favor of replacing database systems and applications with legacy file-based systems and applications.

Answer: False        LOD: Medium             Page: 549  

    Response: As legacy file-based systems and applications become candidates for reengineering, the trend is overwhelmingly in favor of replacing file-based systems and applications with database systems and applications.

 

41.       Realistically, most organizations build several databases, each one sharing data with several information systems. Thus, there will be some redundancy between databases. However, this redundancy is both greatly reduced and ultimately, controlled.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 549  

 

42.       Database technology offers the advantage of storing data in flexible formats. This is made possible because databases are defined separately from the information systems and application programs that will use them. Theoretically, this allows us to use the data in ways not originally specified by end-users. This is known as data independence.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 549-550  

 

43.       The database system advantages of data independence, greatly reduced data redundancy, and increased flexibility come at a cost. Database technology requires a significant investment based on the learning curve required to use the database technology, and the necessity to adhere to rigorous design principles.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 550  

 

44.       A secondary key is an alternate identifier for a database. Its value may identify either a single record or a subset of all records.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 551  

 

45.       Foreign keys are pointers to the records of a different file in a database. Foreign keys are how the database links the records of one type to those of another type.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 551  

 

46.       An entity is in first normal form (1NF) if there are no attributes that can have more than one value for a single instance of the entity (frequently called repeating groups). Any attributes that can have multiple values actually describe a separate entity.


Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 482  

 

47.       Transaction files or tables contain records that describe business events. The data describing these events normally has a limited useful lifetime. Subsequent to their useful lifetime, they are archived off-line.

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 552  

 

48.       The data manipulation language (DML) is used by the DBMS to physically establish those record types, fields, and structural relationships. Additionally, the DML defines views of the database.

Answer: False        LOD: Medium             Page: 555  

    Response: A data definition language (DDL) is used by the DBMS to physically establish those record types, fields, and structural relationships. Additionally, the DDL defines views of the database. A data manipulation language (DML) is used to create, read, update, and delete records in the database and to navigate between different records and types of records.

 

49.       Relational databases implement data in a series of two-dimensional tables that are "related" to one another via foreign keys. Each table (sometimes called a relation) consists of named column (which are fields or attributes) and any number of unnamed rows (which correspond to records).

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 556  

 

50.       An entity is in second normal form (2NF) if it is already in 1NF and if the values of all non-primary key attributes are dependent on the full primary key, not just part of it. Any non-key attributes that are dependent on only part of the primary key should be moved to any entity where that partial key becomes the full key.

 

Answer: True        LOD: Easy             Page: 323  

 

 

Multiple Choice Questions

25 questions @ 2 points each = 50 points

 

51.       An entity relationship diagram:


            A)   is used in data modeling.

            B)   depicts data in terms of entities and relationships.

            C)   identifies the cardinality of a relationship.

            D)   makes clear the degree of a relationship.

            E)   all of the above.


Answer: E        LOD: Easy        Page: 295  

 

52.       An entity:

            A)   is something about which the business needs to store data.

            B)   is a class of persons, places, objects, events or concepts about which we need to capture and store data.

            C)   is usually represented as a diagram.

            D)   can have many attributes.

            E)   all of the above.

Answer: E        LOD: Easy        Page: 295  

 

53.       A data type:

            A)   defines what type of data can be stored in an attribute.

            B)   could be text, number, date, time, yes/no, value set or image.

            C)   consists of compound attributes.

            D)   both (A) and (B).

            E)   none of the above.

Answer: D        LOD: Medium        Page: 296  

 


54.       What defines the minimum and maximum number of occurrences of one entity that may be related to a single occurrence of the other entity?


            A)   the domain

            B)   the concatenation

            C)   an associative entity

            D)   the cardinality

            E)   none of the above


Answer: D        LOD: Medium        Page: 299  

 

55.       An entity that inherits its primary key from more than one entity is called:


            A)   an associative entity

            B)   a concatenated entity

            C)   a degree of 3

            D)   a many-to-many cardinality

            E)   none of the above


Answer: A        LOD: Medium        Page: 300  

 

56.       The process that prepares a data model for implementation as a simple, nonredundant, flexible and adaptable database is known as:


            A)   process analysis

            B)   requirements analysis

            C)   data analysis

            D)   generalization

            E)   none of the above


Answer: C        LOD: Medium        Page: 322  

 

57.       A technique for organizing and documenting the structure and flow of data through a system's processes and or the logic, policies and procedures to be implemented by a system's processes is known as:


            A)   data modeling

            B)   process modeling

            C)   context modeling

            D)   operational modeling

            E)   none of the above


Answer: B        LOD: Medium        Page: 344