UNIT 2

Lecture 30
Normalization
Attribute Closure
 Closure of a set of FDs (Attribute Closure)
1. The closure of a set of FDs is the set of all FDs implied by a given set
of FDs.
2. It can be calculated using Armstrong Axioms.
3. It can be used to check if a FD follows from a given set.
4. Can check if a set of attributes is a candidate key.

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

 Armstrong Axiom to find Closure
X+ :=X;
Repeat
Old X+ :=X+ ;
For each functional dependency Y  Z in F do
If X+ ‫ כ‬Y then X+ := X+ U Z;
Until (X+ = Old X+);

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

Q.1 Suppose we are given a relation schema R = (A, B, C, G, H, I) and the set
of FDs. A  B, A  C, CG  H, CG  I, B  H. Find (AG)+.
Sol : Given relation R (A, B, C, G, H, I) and set of functional dependencies are
A  B, A  C, CG  H, CG  I, B  H, so to find (AG)+.
Iteration Using Result (AG)+ Old (AG)+
1 AG AG
2 AB ABG AG
3 AC ABCG AG
4 CG  H ABCGH AG
5 CG  I ABCGHI AG
6 BH ABCGHI AG
7 ABCGHI ABCGHI

So (AG)+ = ABCGHI.
Since (AG)+ contains all the attributes of relation R so AG is the key of R.
Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG
Q.2 What is closure of attributes, give the algorithm for it with given relation R
(A, B, C, D, E, F) and following set of functional dependencies.
A  BC, E  CF, B  E, CD  EF
(i) Computer (AB)+.
(ii) Is AC  CF implied by above FD’s?
Sol : Given relation R (A, B, C, D, E, F) and set of functional dependencies are
A  BC, E  CF, B  E, CD  EF, so to find (AB)+.
Iteration Using Result (AB)+ Old (AB)+
1 AB AB
2 A  BC ABC AB
3 BE ABCE AB
4 E  CF ABCEF AB
5 ABCEF ABCEF

So (AB)+ = ABCEF.
Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG
Q.2 What is closure of attributes, give the algorithm for it with given relation R
(A, B, C, D, E, F) and following set of functional dependencies.
A  BC, E  CF, B  E, CD  EF
(i) Computer (AB)+.
(ii) Is AC  CF implied by above FD’s?
Sol : Now to check whether AC  CF is implied by FDs we need to find (AC)+.
Iteration Using Result (AC)+ Old (AC)+
1 AC AC
2 A  BC ABC AC
3 BE ABCE AC
4 E  CF ABCEF AC
5 ABCEF ABCEF

So (AC)+ = ABCEF. Since (AC)+ contains CF, so we can say AC  CF.

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

Q.3 Consider a relation R (A, B, C, D, E) with the following functional dependencies
AB  C, CD E, DE  B.
Is AB a candidate key of this relation? If not, is ABD? Explain your answer.
Sol : For AB to be a candidate key of this relation it can determine all the attributes of
this relation that is for AB to be a candidate key if and if only if AB  ABCDE, so we
need to find (AB)+.
Iteration Using Result (AB)+ Old (AB)+
1 AB AB
2 AB  C ABC AB
3 ABC ABC

So (AB)+ = ABC. Since (AB)+ do not contain all the attribute of this relation, AB is not a
candidate key of this relation.

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

Q.3 Consider a relation R (A, B, C, D, E) with the following functional dependencies
AB  C, CD E, DE  B.
Is AB a candidate key of this relation? If not, is ABD? Explain your answer.
Sol : For ABD to be a candidate key of this relation it can determine all the attributes
of this relation that is for ABD to be a candidate key if and if only if ABD  ABCDE, so
we need to find (ABD)+.
Iteration Using Result (ABD)+ Old (ABD)+
1 ABD ABD
2 AB  C ABCD ABD
3 CD  E ABCDE ABCD
4 DE  B ABCDE ABCD
5 ABCDE ABCDE

So (ABD)+ = ABCDE. Since (ABD)+ contains all the attribute of this relation, ABD is a
candidate key of this relation.
Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG
Q.4 Let the relation :
R = {A, B, C, D, E, F, G} satisfies following FD’s
Let F = {A  B, BC  DE, AEF  G, B  F}
Find A+, BC+, AEF+.
Q.5 Let the relation
R (A, B, C, D, E, F, G)
Satisfies the following FD’s
A  B,
BC  DE,
AEF  G
Compute the closure {A, C}+.
Is the FD ACF  DG implied by this set.

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

 GATE Question
The following functional dependencies are given :
AB CD, AF D, DE  F, C  G, F  E, G A
Which one of the following option is false?
(A) {CF}+ = {ACDEFG}
(B) {BG}+= {ABCDG}
(C) {AF}+ = {ACDEFG}
(D) {AB}+= {ABCDFG}
[GATE 2006]

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

 GATE Question
In a scheme with attribute A, B, C, D and E following set of functional dependencies are
given
A→B
A→C
CD → E
B→D
E→A
Which of the following functional dependencies is NOT implied by the above set?
(a) CD → AC (b) BD → CD
(c) BC → CD (d) AC → BC
[GATE 2005]

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

 GATE Question
Prime Attribute – An attribute of relation schema R is called a prime
attribute of R if it is a member of some candidate key of R.
Nonprime Attribute – An attribute is called nonprime if it is not a prime
attribute, i.e. if it is not a member of any candidate key.

A prime attribute of a relation scheme R is an attribute that appears

(A) in all candidate keys of R.
(B) in some candidate key of R.
(C) in a foreign keys of R.
(D) only in the primary key of R.
[GATE 2014]
Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG
 Finding candidate key of Relation
Q.1 Consider a relation R (A, B, C, D, E) with a set of FDs
F = {A  BC, C  D, D  E}.
Find candidate key of R.
Sol : Super key of this relation is = ABCDE
Essential attribute for candidate key = A
Find A+ = ABCDE
Since A contains all the attributes of this relation, A is an candidate key of this
relation.
So prime attribute is = A
Non prime attributes are = B, C, D, E

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

 Finding candidate key of Relation
Q.2 Consider a relation R (A, B, C, D, E) with a set of FDs
F = {AB  C, C  D, D  E, E  B}.
Find candidate key of R.
Sol : Super key of this relation is = ABCDE
Essential attribute for candidate key = A
Find A+ = A
Since A do not contain all the attributes of this relation, A is not an candidate key of this
relation. That means relation R has multiple candidate keys and every candidate key must
contain attribute A. So we try all the combinations of A.
So, AB+ = ABCDE, implies that AB is an candidate key.
AC+ = ABCDE, implies that AC is an candidate key.
AD+ = ABCDE, implies that AD is an candidate key.
AE+ = ABCDE, implies that AE is an candidate key.
So we have 4 candidate keys.
Prime attributes are = A, B, C, D, E
Non prime attributes are = ø
Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG
 Finding candidate key of Relation
Q.3 Consider a relation R (A, B, C, D, E) with a set of FDs
F = {A  BC, CD  E, B  D, E  A}.
Find candidate key of R.
Sol : Super key of this relation is = ABCDE
Essential attribute for candidate key = ø
That means relation R has multiple candidate keys and no attribute is common in any candidate key. So we
need to find the closure of all the determinants.
So, A+ = ABCDE, implies that A is an candidate key.
CD+ = ABCDE, implies that CD is an candidate key.
B+ = BD, implies that B is not an candidate key.
E+ = ABCDE, implies that E is an candidate key.
So we try the combination of B with C and D and check whether BC or CD is an candidate key.
So, BC+ = ABCDE
BD+ = BD
So, the candidate keys of this relation are A, BC, CD, E.
Prime attributes are = A, B, C, D, E
Non prime attributes are = ø

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

 GATE Question
Consider the relation schema R = (E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N) and the set
of functional dependencies {{E, F} → {G}, {F} → {I, J}, {E, H} → {K, L}, {K}
→ {M}, {L} → {N}} on R. What is the key for R?
(a) {E, F}
(b) {E, F, H}
(c) {E, F, H, K, L}
(d) {E}
[GATE 2014]

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

 GATE Question
Which of the following is NOT a super key in a relational schema with
attributes V, W, X, Y, Z and primary key VY?
(A) VXYZ
(B) VWXZ
(C) VWXY
(D) VWXYZ
[GATE 2016]

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

 GATE Question
The maximum number of super keys for the relation
schema R (E, F, G, H) with E as the key is ___.
[GATE 2014]

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

 GATE Question
Relation R has eight attributes ABCDEFGH. Fields of R contain only
atomic values. F = {CH  G, A BC, B CFH, E A, F EG} is a set of
functional dependencies (FDs) so that F+ is exactly the set of FDs that
hold for R.
Q. How many candidate keys does the relation R have?
(A) 3
(B) 4
(C) 5
(D) 6
[GATE 2013]

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

 GATE Question
Consider a relation scheme R = {A, B, C, D, E, H}on which the following
functional dependencies hold : {A B, BC D, E C, D A}. Which
are the candidate keys of R?
(A) AE, BE
(B) AE, BE, DE
(C) AEH, BEH, BCH
(D) AEH, BEH, DEH
[GATE 2005]

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

 GATE Question
Let R = (A, B, C, D, E, F) be a relation scheme with the following
dependencies C F, E A, EC D, A B. which of the following is the
key for R?
(A) CD
(B) EC
(C) AE
(D) AC
[GATE 1999]

Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG

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Dinesh Kumar Bhawnani, BIT DURG