MIS 431 Exam Questions with Correct Answers Latest Update 2025/2026
Purpose of normalization - Answers To remove redundancy, prevent update anomalies, and
ensure consistent relational tables.
1NF definition - Answers No repeating groups; all values atomic; each cell has one value.
What violates 1NF? - Answers Repeating columns or multi-valued cells (Phone1, Phone2, lists).
2NF definition - Answers In 1NF and no partial dependencies.
Partial dependency definition - Answers Non-key attribute depends on only part of a composite
primary key.
3NF definition - Answers In 2NF and no transitive dependencies between non-key attributes.
Transitive dependency definition - Answers Non-key attribute depends on another non-key
attribute.
Why normalize? - Answers To prevent insert, update, and delete anomalies.
Why denormalize? - Answers To improve performance by reducing joins.
What is an index? - Answers A shortcut (usually a B-tree) that speeds up searches by avoiding
full table scans.
What does an index store? - Answers Key values + pointers to actual rows.
Index advantage - Answers Faster SELECT/search operations.
Index disadvantage - Answers Slower INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE operations.
When to use an index? - Answers On columns used in WHERE, JOIN, ORDER BY, or with high
uniqueness.
When not to index? - Answers On low-cardinality or frequently updated columns.
Clustered index - Answers Physically orders the table; only one allowed.
Nonclustered index - Answers Separate structure with pointers; many allowed.
Define a transaction - Answers A logical unit of work that follows ACID principles.
ACID stands for - Answers Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability.
Atomicity definition - Answers All or nothing; transaction cannot partially complete.
Consistency definition - Answers Database must remain valid before and after the transaction.
Purpose of normalization - Answers To remove redundancy, prevent update anomalies, and
ensure consistent relational tables.
1NF definition - Answers No repeating groups; all values atomic; each cell has one value.
What violates 1NF? - Answers Repeating columns or multi-valued cells (Phone1, Phone2, lists).
2NF definition - Answers In 1NF and no partial dependencies.
Partial dependency definition - Answers Non-key attribute depends on only part of a composite
primary key.
3NF definition - Answers In 2NF and no transitive dependencies between non-key attributes.
Transitive dependency definition - Answers Non-key attribute depends on another non-key
attribute.
Why normalize? - Answers To prevent insert, update, and delete anomalies.
Why denormalize? - Answers To improve performance by reducing joins.
What is an index? - Answers A shortcut (usually a B-tree) that speeds up searches by avoiding
full table scans.
What does an index store? - Answers Key values + pointers to actual rows.
Index advantage - Answers Faster SELECT/search operations.
Index disadvantage - Answers Slower INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE operations.
When to use an index? - Answers On columns used in WHERE, JOIN, ORDER BY, or with high
uniqueness.
When not to index? - Answers On low-cardinality or frequently updated columns.
Clustered index - Answers Physically orders the table; only one allowed.
Nonclustered index - Answers Separate structure with pointers; many allowed.
Define a transaction - Answers A logical unit of work that follows ACID principles.
ACID stands for - Answers Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability.
Atomicity definition - Answers All or nothing; transaction cannot partially complete.
Consistency definition - Answers Database must remain valid before and after the transaction.
