Database Management System (BSc CSIT, CSC260): what's likely to come
Every real question from 7 past papers (2074-2081) mapped to its official syllabus unit. Each prediction shows its receipt: the actual years it appeared.
Topic predictions, ordered by what to study first
Every syllabus unit scored by how often it appears, its mark-weight, and its trend. See the exact questions behind each unit in the Explore-by-unit section below.
| # | Syllabus unit | Probability | Appeared | Avg marks | Syllabus weight | Exam vs syllabus | Trend | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | U7Relational Database Design | Very likely100% | 19.3 | 16%7 lecture hrs | Over-examinedexam 26% · syllabus 16% | Steady | 6 recurring8 total | |
| 2 | U6SQL | Very likely100% | 17.1 | 18%8 lecture hrs | Balancedexam 23% · syllabus 18% | Steady | 6 recurring7 total | |
| 3 | U3Data Modeling Using the Entity-Relational Model | Likely71% | 10 | 13%6 lecture hrs | Balancedexam 10% · syllabus 13% | Steady | 3 recurring3 total | |
| 4 | U5The Relational Algebra and Relational Calculus | Likely71% | 8 | 11%5 lecture hrs | Balancedexam 8% · syllabus 11% | Steady | 2 recurring2 total | |
| 5 | U8Introduction to Transaction Processing Concepts and Theory | Likely57% | 12.5 | 9%4 lecture hrs | Balancedexam 10% · syllabus 9% | Fading | 2 recurring2 total | |
| 6 | U1Database and Database Users | Likely57% | 11.2 | 4%2 lecture hrs | Balancedexam 9% · syllabus 4% | Rising | 3 recurring3 total | |
| 7 | U9Concurrency Control Techniques | Likely57% | 10 | 9%4 lecture hrs | Balancedexam 8% · syllabus 9% | Fading | 2 recurring2 total | |
| 8 | U4The Relational Data Model and Relational Database Constraints | Possible43% | 5 | 7%3 lecture hrs | Balancedexam 3% · syllabus 7% | Rising | 1 recurring1 total | |
| 9 | U10Database Recovery Techniques | Occasional29% | 10 | 7%3 lecture hrs | Balancedexam 4% · syllabus 7% | Steady | 1 recurring1 total | |
| 10 | U2Database System – Concepts and Architecture | Occasional14% | 10 | 7%3 lecture hrs | Balancedexam 2% · syllabus 7% | Fading | none repeat1 total |
Explore by unit: every question, ranked
Pick a syllabus unit and walk its questions from most-important to asked-once. The fastest way to revise one topic end to end.
Explain lossless join and dependency-preserving decomposition.
What is data redundancy? How does normalization reduce it?
Explain the multivalued dependency and 4NF in brief.
Explain Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF). Differentiate it from 3NF and decompose a given relation into BCNF with an example.
How are the different types of entities and relationships of an ER diagram reduced into tables? Explain with examples for each type of entity and relationship.
What is normalization? Explain 1NF, 2NF, and 3NF with suitable examples, and discuss why normalization is necessary.
Explain indexing in databases. Differentiate between primary, secondary, and clustering indexes, and explain the structure of a B+ tree index.
Discuss functional dependency and its inference rules (Armstrong's axioms). Explain how to compute the closure of a set of attributes with an example.
Most-asked questions across all years
The questions that come back exam after exam, grouped across years and ranked by how often they're asked. Open one to read its real past answer.
What is a trigger? Explain with an example.
Differentiate between relational algebra and relational calculus.
Differentiate between the DELETE, DROP, and TRUNCATE commands.
Explain aggregate functions in SQL with examples.
Explain lossless join and dependency-preserving decomposition.
What is data redundancy? How does normalization reduce it?
Define schedule. Differentiate between serial and serializable schedules.
What is a deadlock in a database? How is it handled?
Lowest priority: asked only once (4)
- U72079
Explain indexing in databases. Differentiate between primary, secondary, and clustering indexes, and explain the structure of a B+ tree index.
- U72079
Discuss functional dependency and its inference rules (Armstrong's axioms). Explain how to compute the closure of a set of attributes with an example.
- U62078
Explain SQL with examples. Write SQL queries to create tables, insert data, and perform join, group by, and nested subquery operations on a given schema.
- U22074
What is a Database Management System (DBMS)? Explain the three-schema architecture of a DBMS and the concept of data independence.
Study smart and sit a probable paper
How far a few high-priority topics take you, and a full mock paper built from the most likely questions, mirroring the real exam structure.
Study smart, not hard
Study the units in priority order. Each bar shows the share of total marks you'd have covered by then. The top 6 units alone cover ~80% of marks.
Most Probable Paper
Mirrors the real structure · 60 marks · based on 7 past papers
- 1.[10 marks]
Explain Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF). Differentiate it from 3NF and decompose a given relation into BCNF with an example.
- 2.[10 marks]
Explain the Entity-Relationship (ER) model. Draw an ER diagram for a university database and explain different types of entities, attributes, and relationships.
- 3.[10 marks]
Differentiate between relational algebra and relational calculus.
- 1.[5 marks]
Differentiate between the DELETE, DROP, and TRUNCATE commands.
- 2.[5 marks]
Differentiate between a file system and a DBMS.
- 3.[5 marks]
Differentiate between primary key, candidate key, and foreign key.
- 4.[5 marks]
Define a transaction and explain its ACID properties. Discuss the various states of a transaction with a state diagram.
- 5.[5 marks]
Explain concurrency control. Describe the timestamp-based protocol and the two-phase locking (2PL) protocol for concurrency control.
- 6.[5 marks]
Explain database recovery. Discuss log-based recovery techniques, deferred and immediate database modification, and the concept of checkpoints.
- 7.[5 marks]
What is a Database Management System (DBMS)? Explain the three-schema architecture of a DBMS and the concept of data independence.