Project ForgeDatabase Management Systems
Normalization
GATE 2007
Hard
Which one of the following statements is FALSE?
- AAny relation with two attributes is in BCNF
- BA relation in which every key has only one attribute is in 2NF
- CA prime attribute can be transitively dependent on a key in a 3NF relation
- A prime attribute can be transitively dependent on a key in a BCNF relation
Explanation
(A) is true (2-attribute relations trivially satisfy BCNF). (B) is true (2NF violations require partial dependency on a composite key, which can't occur with single-attribute keys). (C) is true — 3NF specifically permits transitive dependencies through prime attributes (the key distinction from BCNF). (D) is FALSE: BCNF requires every determinant to be a superkey with no exceptions, so it cannot have this kind of transitive dependency at all.
Source: GATE CS 2007 (2007)
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