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Integrity Constraints and Normal Forms

GATE CSE 2022 · Q14

MCQ1 markEasy

Time

In a relational data model, which one of the following statements is TRUE?

Select one answerSingle correct

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Solution

Step-by-step verified solution

Official answer: A) A relation with only two attributes is always in BCNF.

Integrity Constraints and Normal Forms

Let us evaluate each of the given options:

  • (A) is TRUE: Consider any relation R(A,B)R(A, B) with two attributes. The only possible non-trivial functional dependencies are A→BA \to B, B→AB \to A, or both. In any non-trivial dependency (such as A→BA \to B), the determinant AA is a candidate key (and thus a superkey). If there are no non-trivial dependencies, the key is ABAB. In all cases, every non-trivial FD X→YX \to Y has XX as a superkey. Therefore, any two-attribute relation is always in BCNF.

  • (B) is FALSE: If all attributes are prime, the relation is guaranteed to be in 3NF, but not necessarily in BCNF. For example, in R(A,B,C)R(A, B, C) with FDs AB→CAB \to C and C→BC \to B, candidate keys are ABAB and ACAC. All attributes {A,B,C}\{A, B, C\} are prime, but C→BC \to B violates BCNF because CC is not a superkey.

  • (C) is FALSE: An all-key relation consists solely of prime attributes and has zero non-prime attributes.

  • (D) is FALSE: BCNF decomposition is always lossless, but it is not always dependency-preserving.

Hence, option (A) is the correct answer.

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This Integrity Constraints and Normal Forms previous year question is Q14 of the GATE CSE 2022 paper. Find more GATE CSE PYQs on Integrity Constraints and Normal Forms in Databases, or browse all GATE CSE PYQs.

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Integrity Constraints and Normal Forms in GATE CSE

Integrity Constraints and Normal Forms has 30 GATE CSE PYQs across 20 papers from 2011 to 2026. 10 of them are 1-mark MCQs like this one, and GATE CSE 2022 has 2.

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GateAI solution cardGATE CSE 2022 · Q14 · MCQ

In a relational data model, which one of the following statements is TRUE?

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Independent practice explanation verified by the GateAI team. GATE is conducted by the IITs; question text follows the official paper.