IGCSE · Practice questions · Single-table databases: fields, records and data types

One row per thing.

Six original Cambridge-style questions on single-table databases and data types, with worked solutions.

Original questions All questions on this page are original work, written in the Cambridge IGCSE style. They are not from past papers. They test the same concepts and skills the syllabus rewards.

Keep these straight

Columns and rows.

Field: a column, one item of data (e.g. Weight). Record: a row, all the data about one item.
Counting: do not count the row of field names as a record.
Data types: text/alphanumeric, character, Boolean, integer, real, date/time. Never write "number".
Justify: whole number = integer; decimal = real; yes/no = Boolean; leading zero or symbols = text.

Recall

[2 marks]

State what is meant by a field and by a record in a database table.

Field: a column in the table that stores one item of data (one attribute) for every record. ✓
Record: a row in the table that stores all the data about one item, person or thing. ✓

Data

[2 marks]

A cinema stores data in a table FILMS.

FilmID	Title	Rating	Minutes	Is3D
F101	Ocean Deep	U	96	TRUE
F102	Night Train	15	118	FALSE
F103	Robo Pals	PG	102	TRUE

State the number of fields and the number of records in the table.

5 fields (FilmID, Title, Rating, Minutes, Is3D). ✓
3 records (one for each film; the row of field names is not a record). ✓

Apply

[4 marks]

For the FILMS table above, suggest the most suitable data type for each field: Title, Rating, Minutes, Is3D.

Title: text/alphanumeric. ✓
Rating: text/alphanumeric (values such as PG and 15 can be two characters). ✓
Minutes: integer (a whole number of minutes). ✓
Is3D: Boolean (TRUE or FALSE). ✓

Explain

[2 marks]

A student suggests storing a postcode such as B12 0QJ as an integer. Explain why this is not suitable.

A postcode contains letters and a space as well as digits. ✓
So it must be stored as text/alphanumeric; it is never used in calculations. ✓

Apply

[4 marks]

A shop sells T-shirts in sizes S, M or L, priced from 5.00 to 30.00. Define two fields, Size and Price, for its database table: give a data type and a suitable validation check for each.

Size: character (one letter). ✓
Size validation: lookup / format check that the value is S, M or L. ✓
Price: real. ✓
Price validation: range check that it is between 5.00 and 30.00 inclusive. ✓

Analysis

[2 marks]

The FILMS table has a field Minutes with a range check of 60 to 240. Explain why the value 96 could still be wrong after passing the check.

Validation only checks that the data is reasonable (inside the allowed range). ✓
The real film might be 69 minutes and 96 was typed by mistake; validation cannot check accuracy against the real value. ✓

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