[Year 12 IT Apps] IT Apps Exam, Short Answer, Question 7A

[Melanie P]

Hi all

Below is my take on this question - it may be up the garden path :)

But I  am glad it is only a 3 point question as my students were expecting
to split tables!!

I think that this question maybe expecting the kids to split the fullName
field into first name and family name in addition to only storing one piece
of data in the fields interestGroup and contacts - given the 2012
assessment report comments.

I also believe they may only be expecting 5 records to be written down (for
the set of fancy_cat) - since there is no apparent relationship between
interest group and contacts. Interest group could be blank for the final 2
fancy_cat records since it is not the PK and does not need a value. ( ?
) This would enable a search for users who like a particular interest group
to return the correct number of users ( part B)
Of course this would not be an ideal database table as they are only asking
for 1NF.

I will also be eager to read other opinions on this question.

Regards,

Melanie (PSC)



On Friday, November 7, 2014, Vear, Gary D <vear.gary.d at edumail.vic.gov.au
<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','vear.gary.d at edumail.vic.gov.au');>> wrote:

>  Hi all,
>
>
>
> Not sure I like this question at all. Normalising to 1NF sounds simple
> enough, particularly when students are required to use just one set of
> sample records, but this seems like it requires a lot for 3 marks:
>
>
>
> Choosing the first record (fancy_cat), here's what I think would be
> required for full marks:
>
>
>
>    *userName* *fullName* *interestGroup* *contactList*  fancy_cat Francine
> Ulas love_planes paperclip55  fancy_cat Francine Ulas love_planes
> panic_disco  fancy_cat Francine Ulas love_planes starwarsfan  fancy_cat Francine
> Ulas love_planes melanie_franks  fancy_cat Francine Ulas love_planes
> WalterEllison27  fancy_cat Francine Ulas classOf2104 paperclip56
> fancy_cat Francine Ulas classOf2105 panic_disco  fancy_cat Francine Ulas
> classOf2106 starwarsfan  fancy_cat Francine Ulas classOf2107
> melanie_franks  fancy_cat Francine Ulas classOf2108 WalterEllison28
> fancy_cat Francine Ulas cooking_rox paperclip57  fancy_cat Francine Ulas
> cooking_rox panic_disco  fancy_cat Francine Ulas cooking_rox starwarsfan
> fancy_cat Francine Ulas cooking_rox melanie_franks  fancy_cat Francine
> Ulas cooking_rox WalterEllison29
>
>
>
> That's 15 individual records students would have to write out, unless I'm
> mistaken. Will students be penalised if they do the sensible thing and
> normalise this data to 2NF by creating separate tables?
>
>
>
> I thought I understood normalising to 1NF, but perhaps I'm wrong. The
> addition of that 4th field (contactList) has seemingly made this a big
> challenge (15 lines of writing) for just 3 marks.
>
>
>
> I'd appreciate feedback/corrections from others on this question, since it
> has me somewhat confused.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Gary
>
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-- 
Melanie Pellow :)
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