Databases: past paper questions
Real questions on databases
The newest 20 of 36 written questions. Open one to see it on the real paper.
- 0478/21 · May/June 2026 · Q9a(i)[1]
State why MemberName would not be appropriate for a primary key.
See it on the paper → - 0478/21 · May/June 2026 · Q9a(ii)[1]
Give the name of the most appropriate field for the primary key.
See it on the paper → - 0478/21 · May/June 2026 · Q9b[2]
Complete the table to identify the most appropriate data type for these fields in the table SWIMMERS. Each data type must be different. field data type Distance Date MemberID
See it on the paper → - 0478/21 · May/June 2026 · Q9c[3]
Complete the structured query language (SQL) statement to display only the names of the members who swam a distance of 1500 metres or more. SELECT FROM WHERE Turn over
See it on the paper → - 0478/23 · May/June 2026 · Q8a[2]
Identify the most appropriate field in OPTION_SUBJECTS for a primary key. Give one reason for your choice. primary key field reason
See it on the paper → - 0478/23 · May/June 2026 · Q8b[4]
Identify one appropriate field from OPTION_SUBJECTS for each of the given data types. State one reason for your choice in each case. integer data type reason Boolean data type reason
See it on the paper → - 0478/22 · February/March 2026 · Q8a[2]
State the number of fields and records in this database table. fields
See it on the paper → - 0478/22 · February/March 2026 · Q8b[1]
The data in both IDCode and Country fields are unique in the database table. State one reason why IDCode would make a better primary key than Country
See it on the paper → - 0478/22 · February/March 2026 · Q8c[3]
Give the output that would be produced by the structured query language (SQL) statement: SELECT IDCode, Country, CommonName FROM NATIONAL_TREES WHERE Continent = "Europe";
See it on the paper → - 0478/22 · February/March 2026 · Q8d[5]
Complete the SQL statement to list only the country, common name and scientific name of the national trees listed for North America, in alphabetical order of their common names. SELECT FROM WHERE
See it on the paper → - 0478/21 · October/November 2025 · Q8a[1]
State the reason why ParentName is not appropriate as the primary key.
See it on the paper → - 0478/21 · October/November 2025 · Q8b[1]
Give the name of the field that should be the primary key.
See it on the paper → - 0478/21 · October/November 2025 · Q8d[2]
Complete the structured query language (SQL) statement to display only the names of the students who do not have permission to go on the trip. SELECT FROM WHERE
See it on the paper → - 0478/23 · October/November 2025 · Q8a(i)[1]
Give the name of the field that is most appropriate to be the primary key. (a) (i)
See it on the paper → - 0478/23 · October/November 2025 · Q8b[3]
Complete the structured query language (SQL) statement to list equipment not returned. The list must contain only the descriptions and student names. SELECT FROM
See it on the paper → - 0478/22 · February/March 2025 · Q8a[2]
State the number of fields and records in this database table. Fields
See it on the paper → - 0478/22 · February/March 2025 · Q8b[2]
Identify the field in the database table that is most suitable to be the primary key and give one reason for your choice. Primary key field Reason
See it on the paper → - 0478/22 · February/March 2025 · Q8c[3]
Give the output from the structured query language (SQL) statement: SELECT City, Country, Population FROM MajorCity WHERE Continent = "South America" ORDER BY Population;
See it on the paper → - 0478/22 · February/March 2025 · Q8d[4]
Complete the SQL statement to list only the code, city, country and continent of all the cities in the database table that are capital cities. SELECT
See it on the paper → - 0478/22 · May/June 2024 · Q10a[1]
the field that will be the most appropriate primary key for this table.
See it on the paper →
What examiners said
Comprehensive responses • Most candidates stated the correct number of fields and records. Limited responses • Some candidates mixed up fields and records and gave their answers in reverse to what was expected. • Some candidates included the table heading row as part of their amount of records response.
— Examiner report, February/March 2026, 0478/22 Q8(a) (Cambridge)
Comprehensive responses • Some candidates understood that primary keys were more manageable if they were of a fixed size or format. Limited responses • Many candidates missed that the question told them the IDCode and Country fields both gave unique data, by suggesting the IDCode would make a more suitable primary key because its data was unique.
— Examiner report, February/March 2026, 0478/22 Q8(b) (Cambridge)
Comprehensive responses • Most candidates wrote the correct output for the given structured query language (SQL) statement. Limited responses • Some candidates included unnecessary extra punctuation, such as commas, in their responses.
— Examiner report, February/March 2026, 0478/22 Q8(c) (Cambridge)
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