GATE CS 2016 Set 1 — Question 33
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Databases → Normalization → 1NF, 2NF, 3NF
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Question
A database of research articles in a journal uses the following schema.
The primary key is and the following functional dependencies exist in the schema.
The database is redesigned to use the following schemas.
Which is the weakest normal form that the new database satisfies, but the old one does not?
The primary key is and the following functional dependencies exist in the schema.
The database is redesigned to use the following schemas.
Which is the weakest normal form that the new database satisfies, but the old one does not?
Correct answer
(B) 2NF
Solution
Let the original relation be . The primary key is .
The functional dependency is a partial dependency because is a proper subset of the candidate key . Therefore, the original relation is in 1NF but not in 2NF.The decomposed relations are:
The old database design satisfied 1NF but failed 2NF.
The question asks for the weakest normal form that the new database satisfies but the old one does not. The set of such normal forms is . The weakest among these is 2NF.
The functional dependency is a partial dependency because is a proper subset of the candidate key . Therefore, the original relation is in 1NF but not in 2NF.The decomposed relations are:
1. with key . All FDs are full dependencies. It is in BCNF.
2. with key . The FD is full. It is in BCNF.
The new database design satisfies 2NF, 3NF, and BCNF.The old database design satisfied 1NF but failed 2NF.
The question asks for the weakest normal form that the new database satisfies but the old one does not. The set of such normal forms is . The weakest among these is 2NF.
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