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Quizzes > Computers & Technology > Programming & Software

Put Your ER Diagram Skills to the Test!

Think you can ace this database design quiz with ER diagram questions?

Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
Paper art illustration of ER diagram showing entities relations and quiz title on golden yellow background

This ER diagram exam quiz helps you practice database design and spot gaps before the test. Work through real ERD cases, pick the best model, and see where you can improve. If a topic feels rusty, review the basics in our database fundamentals guide , and keep terms fresh with the database glossary .

What does the "ER" in ER diagram stand for?
Entity-Representation
Entity-Relationship
Entity-Relation
Entry-Relationship
The term ER stands for Entity-Relationship, which describes the model's focus on entities and their interrelationships. It was introduced by Peter Chen in 1976. This notation helps conceptualize data structures in a clear, visual way. .
In ER diagrams, which shape is commonly used to represent an entity?
Oval
Triangle
Rectangle
Diamond
Entities are shown as rectangles in ER diagrams to distinguish them from attributes and relationships. Rectangles enclose the entity's name, making it easy to see data objects. Other shapes are reserved for attributes (ovals) and relationships (diamonds). .
Which symbol denotes a relationship in Chen notation?
Diamond
Oval
Rectangle
Circle
In Chen's notation, relationships are depicted as diamonds connecting entities. The diamond shape visually separates relationships from entity rectangles and attribute ovals. This helps in quickly identifying how entities interact. .
How is an attribute represented in a traditional ER diagram?
Diamond
Line
Oval
Rectangle
Attributes are shown as ovals connected to their entity rectangles. Ovals provide a distinct shape that differentiates them from entities and relationships. This makes it clear which characteristics belong to which entity. .
Which notation indicates a weak entity in an ER diagram?
Dashed rectangle
Underlined rectangle
Double rectangle
Double oval
Weak entities are represented by double rectangles to indicate their dependence on a strong or owner entity for identification. This visual cue helps in understanding that the weak entity cannot exist without its owner. Double borders differentiate weak entities from strong ones. .
How is a key attribute depicted in an ER diagram?
Double underlined
Dashed underline
Bold
Underlined
Key attributes are underlined in ER diagrams to signify that they uniquely identify entity instances. Underlining helps database designers quickly locate which attributes serve as primary keys. This notation is part of the original Chen ER model. .
What cardinality does "1:N" represent?
Many-to-many
One-to-many
One-to-one
Many-to-one
A "1:N" cardinality indicates that one instance of an entity can be associated with multiple instances of another entity. This one-to-many relationship is fundamental in database design. It's visually depicted using crow's foot notation or a line with symbols. .
In Chen notation, how is a multivalued attribute shown?
Dashed oval
Single oval
Double rectangle
Double oval
Multivalued attributes are depicted by double ovals in Chen notation. This shows that an attribute can have multiple values for a single entity instance. The double border distinguishes it from single-valued attributes. .
What does total participation mean in ER modeling?
Participation is optional for every instance
Only one instance participates
Every instance of the entity must participate in the relationship
At least two instances must participate
Total participation means every instance of the entity set must be involved in at least one relationship instance with another entity set. This constraint ensures that no entity instance exists in isolation concerning that relationship. It's depicted by a double line between the entity and relationship. .
How is a derived attribute represented in an ER diagram using Chen notation?
Double oval
Dashed rectangle
Dotted rectangle
Dashed oval
A derived attribute defines values determined by other attributes and is shown with a dashed oval. This visual distinction informs designers the attribute is not stored but calculated. It helps in keeping the schema clear about stored versus computed data. .
What is a unary relationship?
A relationship with no cardinality
A relationship between two different entities
A relationship with one attribute
A relationship where an entity relates to itself
A unary relationship exists when an entity is related to itself, such as employees managing other employees. This is also called a recursive relationship. It's represented by connecting the entity to itself with a relationship line. .
How many entity types are involved in a ternary relationship?
Three
One
Two
Four
Ternary relationships involve exactly three different entity types. They represent associations that cannot be decomposed into binary relationships without loss of semantics. In ER diagrams, they use a diamond connected to three entity rectangles. .
How is a partial key of a weak entity depicted?
Solid underline
Double underline
Dashed oval
Dashed underline
A partial key (or discriminator) of a weak entity is underlined with a dashed line to show that it uniquely identifies weak entity instances within the context of the owner entity. This notation clarifies the role of the attribute in identifying entities. .
What is an associative entity?
A subtype in specialization
A combination of a relationship and an entity to resolve many-to-many relationships
A strong entity with a composite key
A weak entity dependent on two strong entities
An associative entity is used to convert a many-to-many relationship into two one-to-many relationships, turning the relationship into an entity. It carries any relationship attributes and foreign keys referencing the related entities. .
What does specialization in ER modeling refer to?
Removing attributes from an entity
Defining sub-entities from a higher-level entity type
Establishing relationship cardinality
Combining multiple entity types into one
Specialization is the process of defining subgroups (subtypes) from a higher-level entity (supertype) based on distinguishing characteristics. It helps model inheritance-like structures in databases. It's depicted with an ISA triangle pointing to the subtypes. .
Which degree of relationship refers to four participating entity types?
Quaternary
Binary
Unary
Ternary
Quaternary relationships involve four entity types in a single relationship. Such high-degree relationships are less common but necessary for complex interactions. In ER diagrams, they connect four rectangles to one diamond. .
In ER modeling, what is an identifying relationship?
A relationship that identifies duplicate entities
The relationship that links a weak entity to its owner and provides its key
A relationship that aggregates multiple relationships
A one-to-many relationship for transaction logging
An identifying relationship is used in ER modeling to link a weak entity to its owner (strong entity) and provide the weak entity's primary key. It's depicted with a double diamond or bold line connecting the two. This ensures referential integrity for the weak entity. .
When converting a many-to-many relationship into relational tables, what is the correct approach?
Add a foreign key to one of the existing tables
Create a new table to represent the relationship with foreign keys referencing both entity tables
Create a composite attribute in one table
Use a trigger to maintain the relationship
Many-to-many relationships cannot be directly implemented in relational tables, so you create a junction table (associative table) that holds foreign keys referencing the primary keys of both related tables. This table may also contain attributes specific to the relationship. .
In a specialization hierarchy, which constraint ensures an instance of the supertype appears in at most one subtype?
Overlapping constraint
Disjointness constraint
Participation constraint
Completeness constraint
A disjointness constraint ensures that an instance of the supertype cannot be a member of more than one subtype. It's specified with a "d" near the specialization's discriminator. This maintains clarity in specialization hierarchies. .
Which symbol is commonly used to represent generalization or specialization in an ER diagram?
A double rectangle
A circle
A triangle
A diamond
Generalization and specialization relationships are typically represented by a triangle symbol in ER diagrams, often labeled "ISA." The triangle connects the supertype entity to its subtype entities, showing inheritance-like structure. .
How are total and partial participation constraints typically indicated in an ER diagram?
Double oval for total and single oval for partial
Bold line for total and normal line for partial
Single line for total and dashed for partial
Double line for total participation and single line for partial participation
In Chen notation, total participation is shown by a double line between the entity and the relationship, indicating every entity instance must participate. A single line indicates partial participation, where participation is optional. .
In Crow's Foot notation, how is optionality shown at a relationship end?
A dashed line indicates optional and a solid line indicates mandatory
A diamond indicates optional and a rectangle indicates mandatory
A circle indicates optional participation and a straight line indicates mandatory participation
A crow's foot indicates optionality and a line indicates mandatory
Crow's Foot notation uses a circle to denote optional participation (zero allowed) and a straight line to denote mandatory participation (one or more required). These symbols appear at the ends of relationship lines. .
What is a superkey in the context of an ER model?
A set of one or more attributes that uniquely identify an entity instance
A multivalued attribute
An attribute that links two entities
A composite attribute
A superkey is any combination of attributes that uniquely identifies an entity instance in a relation. All candidate keys and primary keys are superkeys, but superkeys can contain extra attributes. This concept is essential in defining keys. .
How would you model a composite key in an ER diagram?
Use a double oval around the key attributes
Draw a dashed rectangle around them
Underline all attributes that comprise the key, separated by commas
Mark them with an asterisk
Composite keys consist of two or more attributes underlined together in an ER diagram, indicating they jointly form the primary key. Underlining them signifies their combined uniqueness constraint. .
When mapping a ternary relationship to a relational schema, what is the correct strategy?
Create a separate table including the primary keys of all three entities as foreign keys and any relationship attributes
Create three separate binary relationship tables
Merge the three entities into one table
Add a new composite attribute to one of the entity tables
When converting a ternary relationship to a relational schema, you create a separate relation (table) that includes foreign keys referencing each of the three participating entity tables and any attributes of the relationship. This preserves the ternary association. .
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Study Outcomes

  1. Identify Core ERD Components -

    Recognize entities, attributes, keys, and relationships within an ER diagram to lay the foundation for robust database models.

  2. Differentiate Relationship Cardinalities -

    Distinguish between one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many relationships to accurately map real-world associations.

  3. Interpret ERD Notation Symbols -

    Translate crow's foot and other ERD symbols into clear database design concepts and ensure precise diagram interpretation.

  4. Apply Normalization Principles -

    Use first, second, and third normal forms to refine ER diagrams and optimize database structures for efficiency.

  5. Evaluate ER Diagram Design Scenarios -

    Analyze entity relationship diagram questions and quiz scenarios to spot modeling errors and validate design decisions.

Cheat Sheet

  1. ERD Notation Fundamentals -

    Familiarize yourself with common notations like Chen's and Crow's Foot to read er diagram exam questions fluently. Chen uses diamonds for relationships, while Crow's Foot employs lines and arrowheads to denote cardinality - remember "crow's foot = many." University course materials (e.g., Elmasri & Navathe) often provide side-by-side comparisons.

  2. Entities, Attributes, and Keys -

    Entities represent real-world objects and must have a unique primary key; think "PK = unique ID" to lock in that concept. Attributes describe entity properties, including composite (e.g., address → street, city) and multi-valued types. The University of Washington's database curriculum emphasizes key selection for robust schema design.

  3. Cardinality and Participation -

    Understand 1:1, 1:N, and M:N relationships and distinguish total (double line) versus partial (single line) participation constraints. For example, a customer "must" place an order (total) but an order "may" involve a discount (partial). CIS textbooks from MIT OpenCourseWare provide clear diagrams and examples.

  4. Transforming ERD to Tables -

    When converting ER diagrams into relational schemas, create tables for each entity and relationship, and implement foreign keys to enforce links. For M:N relationships, introduce an associative table - e.g., Student_Course with student_id and course_id. Oracle's official documentation offers practical mapping rules.

  5. Normalization and Anomaly Prevention -

    Apply 1NF (atomic values), 2NF (full key dependency), and 3NF (no transitive dependency) to avoid insertion, update, and deletion anomalies. A handy mnemonic is "First, Fully, and Finally No Transitives." Academic papers from ACM Digital Library highlight normalization benefits in database design quizzes and practice tests.

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