Name_________________________  Form______
 

1) Which of the following statements best describes a database? Underline the best answer.

A computerised filing cabinet.
A computer program to do addition and subtraction.
A program used to produce newspapers.

2) Which of the following reasons justify use of a database instead of using a manual system? Underline three reasons.

They are expensive.
They are easy to update.
They make it easy to search for information.
They can store large amounts of information in a small space.
They are difficult to use.

3) Below is a section from a database
 

In the space below write down the names of four of the fields in this database.
 
 
 
 

Which one of the fields is numeric?
 
 
 

Which fields are coded?
 
 
 

4) Why are some database fields coded? Write down three reasons
 
 
 

5) Write down coding for the following countries. Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, Swaziland.
 
 
 

6) Suggest a suitable field length for the words in question 5. Explain your answer.
 
 

7) A school wants to keep records of pupils in a database. Suggest four fields.
 
 
 

8) Suggest 8 fields for a database containing details of music stars.

9) Why do British Telecom operators use databases, not phone directories, to look up phone numbers?
 
 
 

10) Explain one advantage a filing cabinet has in comparison with a computer database?
 
 
 

11) Hospitals use computer databases to match people for organ transplants. Explain some of the problems that the hospital transplantation service would experience if databases did not link up hospitals.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

12) Would there be any point in storing recipes in a computer database? Explain your answer.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

13) An insurance broker uses the Internet to send details of customer addresses, cars, car alarms, immobilisers and garaging details to an insurance company. The insurance company enters this information in a database. Are there any possible security problems that can arise as a result of sending this information over the Internet? Explain these problems and how they can be minimised.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

14) What is the main disadvantage of a database stored on a CD ROM in comparison with a database stored on a computer's hard disk?
 
 
 
 
 
 

15) Write down two reasons why database administrators insist that  backups of records are made on a regular basis.
 
 
 
 
 

16) Why might some staff be annoyed if a firm decides to replace a filing cabinet system with a computer database system.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

17) Database usage presents problems of data theft and unauthorised access to confidential materials. How can a firm minimise these problems?