DBMS Basics Practice Test: Normalization — Flashcards

Quiz questions on different normal forms, multivalued dependencies and decomposition algorithms, user interfaces and different application programs.

Database normalization is a technique that organizes data in a relational database into tables, removing duplicate data, and improving data integrity. It also helps to prevent anomalies like deletion, update, and insertion. 

Normalization is a multi-step process that involves: Dividing large tables into smaller tables and Linking the tables using relationships. 
The four major types of normal forms are: 1NF, 2NF, 3NF, and BCNF. 
Most database systems normalize up to 3NF, which is sufficient for designing a normal relational database because it ensures losslessness and preserves functional dependencies. 

Here are some rules for the first normal form:
Each table should contain a single value
Each record needs to be unique 

Here are some rules for the second normal form:
The table should be in 1NF
Primary Key does not functionally dependent on any subset of Candidate Key 

Here are some anomalies that can occur:
Insertion anomalies: This occurs when some attributes are missing at the time of insertion, preventing data from being inserted into the database
Update anomalies: This occurs when the same data items are repeated with the same values and are not linked to each other
Deletion anomalies: This occurs when deleting one part of the data deletes the other necessary information from the database