Practise 51 real questions on Databases from 2021 to 2026. See the answer and explanation as soon as you answer.
Databases is one of the 10 main topics in our A Level Computer Science (Cambridge (CAIE) 9618) question bank, and about 5% of its real questions come from it. Tayyari Karo has 51 real questions on this topic from 2021 to 2026, from Paper 1. By difficulty: 29 medium, 16 easy, 6 hard.
Work through the questions below, then open the explanation for each one. Redo the ones you missed a few days later.
These are real past-paper questions. Think of your answer first, then open the explanation.
The toy borrowed with BorrowID A2226 has been returned. Write an SQL script to amend the record and store that the toy has been returned. [3]
1 mark each: updating the correct table, setting the additional field to the correct data (data type must match 4(c)(i)), a WHERE clause.
UPDATE BORROW
SET Returned = "Yes"
WHERE BorrowID = "A2226";
UPDATE ... SET ... WHERE changes the single record.
Write a Structured Query Language (SQL) script to delete all placements that have been completed.
DELETE FROM PLACEMENT WHERE Complete = TRUE;
DELETE FROM and correct table, correct condition.
(c)(ii) Write an SQL script to return the number of events that each player has completed.
SELECT PlayerID, COUNT(EventID)
FROM EVENT
GROUP BY PlayerID;
3 marks: 1 for selecting PlayerID, 1 for counting EventID, 1 for grouping by PlayerID.
(a)(i) An organisation uses a database to store data about bird sightings. State what is meant by a data dictionary and give one example of an item typically found in a data dictionary.
Definition: Data about the data in the database / data about the structure of the database / metadata for a database.
Example: table names, data types, field names.
2 marks: 1 for definition, 1 for example.
(b) Identify three advantages of a relational database compared to a file-based approach.
• Reduced data redundancy
• Improved data integrity / consistency / referential integrity
• Allows for views / improved privacy
• Allows for program-data independence
• Complex queries can be executed
3 marks: 1 for each bullet point to max 3.
(c)(i) State what is meant by a tuple. Give an example of a tuple from PHOTO_DATA.
Definition: A single row in a table.
Example: ST23-56, BD987, 08:34, NIK-02 (or any row from PHOTO_DATA)
2 marks: 1 for definition, 1 for example.
(a) Bobby tells Kim that a file-based approach is usually better than a relational database. Explain why Bobby is incorrect.
• Flat-file has more data redundancy because the same data is stored many times / data is stored in different tables which are linked
• There is program-data dependence with flat-files because any changes to the structure of the data means the programs that access that data have to be re-written
• Flat-file has more data inconsistency / worse data integrity because duplicated data might be stored differently / when data is updated in one place, it is not updated everywhere
• It is not easy to perform complex searches/queries because a new program has to be written each time
• Flat files could have a lack of privacy as user views cannot easily be implemented
3 marks: 1 per bullet point to max 3.
(c) A database has a data dictionary. Give three items that are stored in a data dictionary.
1. Table name
2. Field name / attribute
3. Data type
(Also acceptable: type of validation, Primary Key, Foreign Key, relationships)
3 marks: 1 per item to max 3.
| Session | Paper 1 |
|---|---|
| May/June 2026 | 4 |
| May/June 2025 | 5 |
| October/November 2025 | 5 |
| May/June 2024 | 4 |
| October/November 2024 | 5 |
| May/June 2023 | 6 |
| October/November 2023 | 4 |
| May/June 2022 | 4 |
| October/November 2022 | 5 |
| May/June 2021 | 5 |
| October/November 2021 | 4 |
51 real A Level Computer Science (9618) questions on Databases from 2021 to 2026, from Paper 1. Each one shows the year, session and paper it came from.
Yes. Every question shows the correct answer and a short explanation the moment you answer.
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