Read this Specimen Paper with Mark Scheme attached. This Mark scheme outlines what you will be judged on when you submit your controlled assessment.

This is not your controlled assessment, It is a unit of work in the style of a controlled assessment.

Aims

This is an introduction to Databases.

By the end of this unit you should be able to describe:

The database concept

Candidates should be able to:

(a) describe a database as a persistent organised store of data

(b) explain the use of data handling software to create, maintain and interrogate a database.

The DBMS

Candidates should be able to:

(c) describe how a DBMS allows the separation of data from applications and why this is desirable

(d) describe the principal features of a DBMS and how they can be used to create customised data handling applications.

Relational databases

Candidates should be able to:

(e) understand the relationship between entities and tables

(f) understand the components of a relational database, such as tables, forms, queries, reports and modules

(g) understand the use of logical operators in framing database queries

(h) explain the use of key fields to connect tables and avoid data redundancy

(i) describe methods of validating data as it is input.

Activity 1

Key words

Learning aims:

• To fins the correct key words relating to databases.

Data bases have their own set of key words, before undertaking this study we are going to read the text book and make a note of the meanings of some key terms.

Key terms

read pages 90 - 111 in OCR computing for GCSE and make a note of the following terms

• Database
• Persistent store
• index
• flat file database
• field
• record
• entity
• Attribute
• data Integrity
• Data Redundancy
• Validation
• Verification
• Relational database
• Entity relationship diagram
• Schema
• Primary Key
• Atomicity
• Consistency
• isolation
• Durability
• Table
• Query
• Form
• Report
• SQL

As you can see this is a fairly extensive list, but you need to be aware of these terms in the context of a database.

Answer the exam style questions on pages 110 - 111. Hand these in on paper.

Activity 2

Access database

Learning aims:

• Specific aims for Acivity

Making a relational database

In this activity you will investigate the construction of a database. You ahve three options available to you, you may work in pairs on the same topic. You should use Microsoft access to create your database. You ahould only include sufficent example data to illustrate that your database works

Topic 1. Make a relational database for a movie enthusiast. The database should include actors,and teh films they studied in. For each actor your database should be able to find their age (upto date at any given moment), and the films they have starred in. Include details such as gender, name, place of birth. For each film you should include release date, and age rateing. You should be able to create a report detailing an actors film ography in chronological order. You should be able to create a query listing the actors in PG rated films who are over 50

Topic 2. make a relational dtabase containing information about the premier league. Your database should contain information about players - Their age, (upto date at any given moment), their preferred playing position, Gender, name, and place of birth. For each team you should include their name, their year of founding. You should be able to create a report containing the players in each team. You should produce a query which finds the players in teams formed before 1950 who are over 30.

Activity 3

Report Exercisexercise.

Learning aims:

You are to select an option from the list below, design a database to solve the problem, and write a report stating how you did it. (choose one scenario only)

• the school library needs a database to track the books in it - books have titles, authors, and subjects. They may be borrowed by students or teachers, when a book is borrowed it is no longer available to be borrowed by someone else, and should have a return date. The history of who borrowed a book should be accessible
• Surrey schools are having a sports day. Each school enters a team. A database is needed to track atheletes, and their scores. First place in an event scorces 10 pts, 2nd 5, 3rd 3pts, 4th 2pts, 5th 1pt. Your database should track the leading schools and atheletes throughout the sports day.

Your write ups for activities 2 and 3 will be marked to the markscheme in this link.