Microsoft Access Database Worksheet -

Step-by-Step Practical Questions

Scenario: School Library Management System

You are tasked with creating a database for Greenwood High School's library to manage
books, students, and borrowing records.

PART A: Database Creation and Table Design

Question 1: Creating a New Database

Step-by-step instructions to follow:

1. Open Microsoft Access

2. Create a new blank database called "LibrarySystem"
3. Save it in your Documents folder

Your Task:

 What file extension does Access use for databases? ________________

 Where is your database file saved? Write the full file path: ________________

Question 2: Creating the BOOKS Table

Follow these steps:

1. Create a new table in Design View

2. Add the following fields with specified data types:

Field Name Data Type Field Size Description

BookID AutoNumber Primary Key
Title Text/Short Book title
Text
Author Text/Short Author name
Text
Genre Text/Short Book category
Text
ISBN Text/Short ISBN number

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 Text
YearPublished Number Publication year
NumberOfCopies Number Total copies available
Publisher Text/Short Publisher name
Text

Your Tasks: a) Which field should be set as the Primary Key and why?

Answer: ________________________________

b) Why is BookID set as AutoNumber data type?

Answer: ________________________________

c) Set BookID as Primary Key and save the table as "Books"

Question 3: Creating the STUDENTS Table

Create a second table with these specifications:

Field Name Data Type Field Size Additional Properties

StudentID Text/Short Text Primary Key
FirstName Text/Short Text
LastName Text/Short Text
Class Text/Short Text
DateOfBirth Date/Time
Email Text/Short Text
PhoneNumber Text/Short Text

Your Tasks:

a) Create this table in Design View

b) Set appropriate field properties (Required, Format, etc.)

c) Save the table as "Students"

Question: Why might you choose Text data type for StudentID instead of AutoNumber?

Answer: ________________________________

Question 4: Creating the BORROWING Table

Create a third table to track book borrowing:

Field Name Data Type Field Size Description

BorrowingID AutoNumber Primary Key
StudentID Text/Short Text Foreign Key
BookID Number Foreign Key
DateBorrowe Date/Time Borrow date
d

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 DateDue Date/Time Due date
DateReturned Date/Time Return date (can be empty)
Fine Currency Late return fine

Your Tasks:

a) Create this table following the specifications

b) Save as "Borrowing"

Questions:

1. Which fields in this table are Foreign Keys?

Answer: ________________________________

2. Why might Date Returned be left empty for some records?

Answer: ________________________________

PART B: Data Entry and Validation

Question 5: Adding Sample Data

Enter the following data into your BOOKS table:

NumberOfCopie
Title Author Genre ISBN YearPublished Publisher
s
To Kill a Harper 978- Harper
Fiction 1960 3
Mockingbird Lee 0061120084 Perennial
George 978- Signet
1984 Fiction 1949 2
Orwell 0451524935 Classics
The Great F. Scott 978-
Fiction 1925 4 Scribner
Gatsby Fitzgerald 0743273565
Pride and Jane 978- Penguin
Romance 1813 2
Prejudice Austen 0141439518 Classics
The Catcher J.D. 978- Little
Fiction 1951 3
in the Rye Salinger 0316769488 Brown

Your Task: Enter this data into the Books table using Datasheet View.

Question: What happens to the BookID field as you enter each record?

Answer: ________________________________

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Question 6: Student Data Entry

Add these students to the STUDENTS table:

StudentI FirstNam LastNam DateOfBirt PhoneNumbe

Class Email
D e e h r
GH00123
John Smith 10A 15/03/2008 john.smith@school.com 555-0101
4
GH00123 emma.johnson@school.co
Emma Johnson 10B 22/07/2008 555-0102
5 m
GH00123 michael.brown@school.c
Michael Brown 9A 10/11/2009 555-0103
6 om
GH00123
Sarah Davis 10A 05/01/2008 sarah.davis@school.com 555-0104
7
GH00123 james.wilson@school.co
James Wilson 9B 18/09/2009 555-0105
8 m

PART C: Relationships and Referential Integrity

Question 8: Creating Table Relationships

Follow these steps to create relationships:

1. Go to Database Tools → Relationships

2. Add all three tables to the Relationships window
3. Create relationships:
o Students.StudentID → Borrowing.StudentID (One-to-Many)
o Books.BookID → Borrowing.BookID (One-to-Many)

Your Tasks:

a) Create these relationships

b) Enforce Referential Integrity for both relationships

c) Enable Cascade Update Related Fields

Questions:

1. What does "One-to-Many" relationship mean?

Answer: ________________________________

2. Why shouldn't you enable "Cascade Delete Related Records" for the Books-
Borrowing relationship?

PART D: Queries
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Question 10: Simple Select Query

Create a query to show all Fiction books:

1. Create a new query in Design View

2. Add the Books table
3. Include fields: Title, Author, Genre, NumberOfCopies
4. Add criteria: Genre = "Fiction"
5. Save as "Fiction Books Query"

Your Task: Run the query and write down how many fiction books are displayed:

Answer: ________________________________

Question 11: Parameter Query

Create a query that asks for a specific author:

1. Create a new query using the Books table

2. Include fields: Title, Author, YearPublished, Publisher
3. In the Author criteria, enter: [Enter Author Name:]
4. Save as "Books by Author Query"

Question: When you run this query, what happens?

Answer: ________________________________

Question 13: Multi-table Query

Create a query showing student borrowing details:

1. Use all three tables (Students, Books, Borrowing)

2. Include: FirstName, LastName, Title, DateBorrowed, DateDue
3. Sort by LastName then FirstName
4. Save as "Student Borrowing Details"

PART E: Forms
Question 14: Simple Form Creation

Create a form for entering new students:

1. Use the Form Wizard

2. Select the Students table
3. Include all fields
4. Choose Columnar layout
5. Save as "Student Entry Form"

Your Tasks:

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a) Create the form following the steps

b) Use the form to add a new student with your own details

Microsoft Access Worksheet

Complete Step-by-Step Questions with Answers

SCENARIO: Online Bookstore Database

You are creating a database for "BookHub Online" to manage their books, customers, and
orders.

ANSWER KEY
Answer Question 1a: What file extension does Access use for database files?

ANSWER: .accdb (Access Database)

Answer Question 1b: Why is it important to save the database in a specific location?

ANSWER: To ensure easy access, organization, and to prevent loss of work. It also helps
with backup procedures and file management.

Question 2: Create BOOKS Table

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Answer Question 2a: Why is BookID set as AutoNumber? ANSWER: AutoNumber
automatically generates unique sequential numbers, ensuring each book has a unique
identifier without manual input and prevents duplicate primary keys.

Answer Question 2b: What is the purpose of the validation rule for Genre? ANSWER: To
ensure data consistency by only allowing specific, predefined values to be entered, preventing
spelling errors and maintaining data integrity.

Answer Question 2c: Write the complete validation rule for the Genre field. ANSWER:
"Fiction" Or "Non-Fiction" Or "Science" Or "History" Or "Biography"

Question 3: Create CUSTOMERS Table

Answer Question 3a: Why might CustomerID be Text instead of AutoNumber?

ANSWER: Text allows for meaningful customer codes (like CUS001, CUS002) that can be
used for customer service, marketing, and easier identification compared to random numbers.

Answer Question 3b: List three fields that should be set as Required and explain why.

ANSWER:

1. FirstName - Essential for customer identification and communication

2. LastName - Required for complete customer identification
3. Email - Needed for order confirmations and customer contact

Question 4: Create ORDERS Table

Answer Question 4a: Which fields are Foreign Keys and what do they reference?

ANSWER:

 CustomerID references CUSTOMERS.CustomerID

 BookID references BOOKS.BookID

Answer Question 4b: Why set Quantity default to 1?

ANSWER: Most orders are for single books, so setting default to 1 speeds up data entry and
reduces errors.

Question 5: Enter Sample Data

Answer Question 5a: What happens if you try to enter "Drama" in the Genre field?

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ANSWER: Access displays the validation error message "Please enter a valid genre" and
prevents the record from being saved until a valid genre is entered.

Answer Question 5b: What happens to the BookID field as you enter each record?

ANSWER: Access automatically assigns sequential numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) to each new

record without manual input.

Question 6: Create Table Relationships

Answer Question 6a: What does "One-to-Many" relationship mean?

ANSWER: One customer can have many orders, and one book can appear in many orders,
but each order belongs to only one customer and references only one book.

Answer Question 6b: Why enable "Cascade Update Related Fields"?

ANSWER: If a primary key value changes, all related foreign key values automatically
update, maintaining data consistency across tables.

Answer Question 6c: Why NOT enable "Cascade Delete Related Records"?

ANSWER: Deleting a customer or book shouldn't automatically delete order history, as this
information may be needed for business records, accounting, or legal purposes.

Question 7: Simple Select Query

Answer Question 7a: Write the SQL for this query.

Answer Question 7b: How many Fiction books should appear in results?

ANSWER: 2 books (The Great Gatsby and 1984)

Question 8: Parameter Query

Answer Question 8a: What appears when you run this query?

ANSWER: A dialog box asking "Enter Author Name:" where you can type the author's
name.

Answer Question 8b: How many books appear for "George Orwell"?

ANSWER: 1 book (1984)

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Question 9: Calculated Field Query
Answer Question 9a: Write the calculated field expression.

ANSWER: StockValue: [Price]*[Stock]

Answer Question 9b: Which book has the highest stock value?

ANSWER: 1984 (£10.99 × 30 = £329.70)

Answer Question 9c: What is the total stock value of all books combined?

ANSWER:

 The Great Gatsby: £12.99 × 25 = £324.75

 A Brief History of Time: £15.50 × 15 = £232.50
 1984: £10.99 × 30 = £329.70
 The Art of War: £8.99 × 20 = £179.80
 Steve Jobs: £18.99 × 12 = £227.88 Total: £1,294.63

Question 10: Multi-table Query

Answer Question 10a: Write the table relationships needed for this query.

ANSWER:

 CUSTOMERS joined to ORDERS on CustomerID

 BOOKS joined to ORDERS on BookID

Answer Question 10b: How many orders has customer John Smith placed?

ANSWER: 2 orders (The Great Gatsby and A Brief History of Time)

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