Free Practice Quiz Question List

10 — Data, Systems, and Applications Quiz Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 10 — Data, Systems, and Applications, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

Choose one

1 point

Why do the values 42, Maya, 91 become information when presented as a student ID, name, and exam score?

A
The values are converted into hardware instructions.
B
The values are labeled and placed in a meaningful context.
C
The values are stored only as bits and bytes.
D
The values are copied into multiple files.

Choose all

1 point

Which two statements correctly describe keys in a relational database? Select all correct choices.

A
A primary key uniquely identifies a row.
B
A schema is always an index of search terms.
C
A foreign key can refer to a row in another table.
D
A query must permanently change the data it examines.

True or false

1 point

True or false: In a database query, the programmer normally specifies what information is needed, while the DBMS determines how to find it.

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

What database term names a field such as StudentID in ENROLLMENT when it refers to a student in the STUDENT table?

Fill in the blank

1 point

In a relational database, a specifies the columns, data types, relationships, and constraints.

Choose one

1 point

A bank transfer subtracts money from one account and adds it to another. Which behavior best demonstrates transaction atomicity?

A
The transfer either subtracts and adds successfully, or neither change is kept.
B
The transfer always completes one account update before the other is visible.
C
The transfer permanently exposes every intermediate state to other users.
D
The transfer avoids using any database operations.

Choose all

1 point

Which two properties describe an inverted index used for text retrieval? Select all correct choices.

A
It maps a term to documents in which the term appears.
B
It stores only the complete text of the newest document.
C
It guarantees that every returned document is relevant.
D
It can contain postings lists of matching document identifiers.

Written response

1 point

A date is displayed as September 15, 2026. Enter the same date in the canonical API format YYYY-MM-DD.

Fill in the blank

1 point

An maps each search term to the documents in which that term appears.

True or false

1 point

True or false: A client using an API generally needs to know the server's internal storage implementation in order to call the API correctly.

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

A system stores a student's name once in a student table and connects enrollment rows to that student with a key. What database design technique does this illustrate?

A
Storing a student's name in every enrollment row
B
Separating students and enrollments into related tables
C
Removing all keys from the database
D
Copying each course into a separate database

Open ended

1 point

Explain how a library-search application can use databases, information retrieval, an API, a user interface, and abstraction layers together. Describe the responsibility of each major component and one benefit and one limitation of this layered design.

Choose one

1 point

A money-transfer operation subtracts funds from one account and adds them to another. Which behavior best illustrates the transaction property of atomicity?

A
The withdrawal is committed even if the deposit fails.
B
Both the withdrawal and deposit occur, or neither change is committed.
C
The database automatically converts the transfer into a search query.
D
Only the account with the larger balance is updated.

Choose one

1 point

Using the simplified inverted index in the material, which document identifier should a search for the term “secure” retrieve directly?

A
It returns documents 1 and 3 because they contain “data.”
B
It returns document 1 because it contains “organize.”
C
It returns document 2 because it contains “secure.”
D
It returns all three documents because every document has an index entry.

Choose one

1 point

A service provides a GET /students/42 operation. Which design consequence is consistent with the API acting as an abstraction?

A
The client requests a student through a defined operation without directly accessing server storage.
B
The client must know the server’s physical database-file layout.
C
The API exposes every internal table and index to every client.
D
The client is required to implement the server’s authorization mechanism.

Choose one

1 point

A database repeatedly stores the same student and course details in every enrollment record. Which redesign best applies normalization to reduce update anomalies?

A
Copy each student’s name into every enrollment row.
B
Store all students, courses, and enrollments in one unstructured text field.
C
Remove identifiers so that records cannot be connected.
D
Store students and courses separately and connect enrollment records with keys.

Choose one

1 point

Which situation best demonstrates how abstraction layers improve portability?

A
The application writes directly to fixed disk sectors.
B
The application uses the operating system’s file interface while storage hardware is replaced underneath it.
C
The user interface must display the database schema for every file operation.
D
The database must know how the browser renders each result.

True or false

1 point

True or false: A search system that returns only one highly relevant document may have high precision but low recall.

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

In the simplified inverted index shown in the material, how many document identifiers appear in the postings list for “applications”?

Written response

1 point

A file-system interface normally lets an application request a file without knowing where it is stored. If diagnosing a failure requires the programmer to understand storage permissions, network conditions, or physical storage behavior, what is this phenomenon called?