A Level Computer Science OCR Practice Exam

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How are the attributes in a relation for First Normal Form (1NF) structured?

They can have multiple values
They must be completely dependent on other attributes
They need to have unique constraints
They should contain only atomic values

The correct answer is: They should contain only atomic values

In the context of relational database design, First Normal Form (1NF) mandates that each attribute in a relation must contain atomic values. This means that each value must be indivisible; no attribute can hold a collection of values or a list. For example, if an attribute is meant to store a phone number, it should only contain a single phone number rather than potentially multiple numbers or none at all. This principle ensures that the data can be precisely queried and manipulated without ambiguity. By enforcing atomicity, it reduces redundancy and improves data integrity. When attributes are designed to hold only single, distinct values, it simplifies database operations such as searching, updating, and maintaining the data. The notion of atomicity is foundational in database design and is a key requirement of 1NF because it sets the stage for further normalization processes that focus on eliminating redundancy and dependency issues in subsequent normal forms.