KS2 Databases | How they Store Electronic Information

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ICT Quiz - Databases (Questions)

In KS2 ICT children will take a look at databases. These are systems for the storage of data or information and are one of the most common uses for computers.

Databases are storage systems which allow you to store and organise vast quantities of information or data. They can be very useful tools in all sorts of different situations. A historian might use one to list all of the monarchs of England for example, and input the length of their reign, their date of birth, how many children they had or any other piece of statistical information he wanted to add. He could then order the list in several different ways, for example alphabetically, by age or by year of birth. Databases are organised in a way that makes them easy to search for the information they hold.

See how much you know about data storage systems in this ICT quiz.

Which of the following types of information could you store in a database?

[ ]	Information about different products, including descriptions and prices
[ ]	Information about all of the pupils in a school, including name, date of birth and address
[ ]	Information about different countries, including population, climate and language
[ ]	All of the above

In a database about planets, all of the information about Mars would be held on what?

[ ]	A field
[ ]	A report
[ ]	A record
[ ]	A graph

Each record on a database has several different what?

[ ]	Different fields
[ ]	Different yards
[ ]	Different graphs
[ ]	Different coordinates

What is a database search called?

[ ]	A quest
[ ]	A query
[ ]	An inquest
[ ]	An answer

Imagine an animal database in which each record has these fields: number of legs, habitat, lifespan, diet. Which of the following pieces of information could NOT be found out from the database?

[ ]	Whether the animal is a reptile
[ ]	Whether the animal inhabits grassland
[ ]	Whether the animal eats mice
[ ]	Whether the animal has four legs

Which database might you use to help you find your next library book?

[ ]	An encyclopedia
[ ]	A journal
[ ]	A magazine
[ ]	A catalogue

Which fields would you expect to find in a database of library books?

[ ]	Author, title, whether your best friend liked the book
[ ]	Author, title, colour of cover, book condition, how long it will take to read
[ ]	Author, title, genre, number of pages, location
[ ]	Author and title only

If you had a database for the children in your class and you wanted to organise the list of children by date of birth, you would instruct the database to do what?

[ ]	Sort
[ ]	Randomise
[ ]	Alphabetise
[ ]	Save

A planet database could be organised in which of the following ways?

[ ]	By distance from the sun, in ascending numerical order
[ ]	By distance from the sun, in alphabetical order
[ ]	By time taken to orbit, in alphabetical order
[ ]	All of the above

10.

What is another name for the information held in a database?

[ ]	IQ
[ ]	Data
[ ]	Snippets
[ ]	Fun facts

ICT Quiz - Databases (Answers)

Which of the following types of information could you store in a database?

[ ]	Information about different products, including descriptions and prices
[ ]	Information about all of the pupils in a school, including name, date of birth and address
[ ]	Information about different countries, including population, climate and language
[x]	All of the above

Data could be any kind of information you want to keep a record of

In a database about planets, all of the information about Mars would be held on what?

[ ]	A field
[ ]	A report
[x]	A record
[ ]	A graph

A record holds all of the information about one person, place or object. On a planet database, all of the information about Mars would be held on one record, while all of the information about Venus would be held on another record

Each record on a database has several different what?

[x]	Different fields
[ ]	Different yards
[ ]	Different graphs
[ ]	Different coordinates

A field contains only one piece of information. A record on a planet database might have several fields: size, distance from the sun, time taken to orbit, number of moons, etc

What is a database search called?

[ ]	A quest
[x]	A query
[ ]	An inquest
[ ]	An answer

A database "query" is a "question" that you ask the database

Imagine an animal database in which each record has these fields: number of legs, habitat, lifespan, diet. Which of the following pieces of information could NOT be found out from the database?

[x]	Whether the animal is a reptile
[ ]	Whether the animal inhabits grassland
[ ]	Whether the animal eats mice
[ ]	Whether the animal has four legs

The database would need an additional field for class (i.e. reptile, mammal, bird, amphibian, fish, etc.) before it could tell you the answer

Which database might you use to help you find your next library book?

[ ]	An encyclopedia
[ ]	A journal
[ ]	A magazine
[x]	A catalogue

A catalogue is a complete list of items, for example all of the books owned by a library

Which fields would you expect to find in a database of library books?

[ ]	Author, title, whether your best friend liked the book
[ ]	Author, title, colour of cover, book condition, how long it will take to read
[x]	Author, title, genre, number of pages, location
[ ]	Author and title only

Besides including information on author, title, genre and number of pages, one of the most important pieces of information is location - this helps you find the book you choose! The database would also be able to tell you if the book was currently available or out on loan

If you had a database for the children in your class and you wanted to organise the list of children by date of birth, you would instruct the database to do what?

[x]	Sort
[ ]	Randomise
[ ]	Alphabetise
[ ]	Save

A database can be sorted alphabetically or numerically by ascending or descending order

A planet database could be organised in which of the following ways?

[x]	By distance from the sun, in ascending numerical order
[ ]	By distance from the sun, in alphabetical order
[ ]	By time taken to orbit, in alphabetical order
[ ]	All of the above

A list of planets could be sorted alphabetically OR by distance from the sun, but not both at the same time (this applies to the time taken to orbit, as well)

10.

What is another name for the information held in a database?

[ ]	IQ
[x]	Data
[ ]	Snippets
[ ]	Fun facts

A database holds ... data!