Normalization & ERD Practice Pack: 25 Exam-Style Problems with Solutions

Reading about normalization isn't the same as doing it under exam pressure. This pack gives you 25 problems to practice, solved the way an instructor would grade them.

Each problem has its own page, with a realistic scenario, sample data, tasks with point values, and space to work. Turn the page for the full solution: the answer, the steps, the mistake students make most often, and a 10-point rubric with typical deductions.

5 sections, easy to hard

1. Keys and dependencies (5 problems): candidate and composite keys, superkeys, functional dependencies from sample data, and foreign-key delete rules.
2. Normalization (8 problems): 1NF, 2NF, and 3NF from messy tables and spreadsheets, a real trade-off question, and a BCNF bonus.
3. ERD from a word problem (6 problems): turning a business description into entities, keys, and cardinality, including weak entities and reading crow's foot notation.
4. Relationships (4 problems): 1:1, 1:N, and M:N, junction tables, and self-referencing relationships.
5. Find the mistake (2 problems): spot five planted design errors, then grade a student's project with an instructor rubric.

What makes it different?

• Written by a college database instructor, using the kinds of mistakes that show up again and again in real student work.
• Rubrics, not just answers. You'll see where the points go, so you can tell a mostly right answer from an exam-ready one.
• Drawn ERDs. The diagram problems use clear crow's foot diagrams, not text sketches.
• SQL where it matters. Some solutions include CREATE TABLE statements and queries in standard SQL, showing how a design becomes real constraints.
• Built to retake. The score tracker at the back totals your score out of 250 and flags anything under 7 to redo a week later.

Difficulty mix: 6 easy, 12 medium, 7 hard. Suggested times range from 5 to 20 minutes per problem.

Good for: students in an intro or intermediate database course, anyone preparing for a midterm, final, or technical interview on database design, and self-taught developers who want structured practice.

Not for: advanced topics like query tuning, indexing strategy, or NoSQL design. This pack is about getting the relational model right.

File: PDF, 81 pages, US Letter. Prints cleanly, and works on a tablet or laptop. Your copy is stamped for personal use.

Try before you buy: 5 of the 25 problems are free here: https://payhip.com/b/ZersL

Tags / keywords

database design, normalization, ERD, SQL, 1NF 2NF 3NF, BCNF, entity relationship diagram, crow's foot, database exam prep, practice problems, computer science study guide