--- title: "Database Design & Patterns" lang: "en" author: "Mohammad Abu Mattar" canonical: https://mkabumattar.com/post/database-design-patterns-quiz --- [Home](/)›[Quizzes](/quizzes)›[All Categories](/quizzes/categories)›[Backend](/quizzes/categories/backend) Quizzes [Prev in BackendAsync JavaScript: Promises, Async/Await, Event Loop](/quizzes/post/async-javascript-promises-quiz)[Next in BackendNode.js & Express Fundamentals: Building Server Applications](/quizzes/post/nodejs-express-fundamentals-quiz) [Backend](/quizzes/categories/backend)[Database](/quizzes/categories/database) # Database Design & Patterns [Mohammad Abu Mattar](/authors/mohammad-abu-mattar)20 QuestionsIntermediatePublished: 10 Mar 2026 [Markdown for AI(opens in a new tab)](/post/database-design-patterns-quiz/index.md "Open the plain-Markdown version of this page, for pasting into an AI tool") Series [Databases & Data Persistence](/series/databases--data-persistence)4/4 [PreviousElasticsearch: Full-Text Search Engine Fundamentals](/quizzes/post/elasticsearch-search-engine-fundamentals-quiz) All posts in this series (4) Quizzes4 1. [SQL: Query Fundamentals & Database Concepts](/quizzes/post/sql-query-fundamentals-quiz) 2. [MongoDB: NoSQL Database Fundamentals](/quizzes/post/mongodb-nosql-fundamentals-quiz) 3. [Elasticsearch: Full-Text Search Engine Fundamentals](/quizzes/post/elasticsearch-search-engine-fundamentals-quiz) 4. [Database Design & PatternsYou are here](/quizzes/post/database-design-patterns-quiz) ## Database Design & Patterns Up to 20 questions, shuffled on every run Quiz Configuration Enterto start Welcome to the Database Design & Patterns Quiz! Test your knowledge on database normalization, indexing, query optimization, ACID properties, sharding, replication, and more. Each question has a hint and detailed explanations for all options. Good luck! Answer key and explanations20 questions The quiz above draws 20 questions at random from these 30, so a second attempt will not be the same run. Everything in the pool is listed here. 1. What is database normalization? AnswerThe process of organizing data to reduce redundancy and improve data integrity 2. What is denormalization? AnswerStrategically duplicating data to improve read performance at the cost of write complexity 3. What is database indexing? AnswerCreating auxiliary structures to speed up data retrieval while increasing write overhead 4. What is a compound index? AnswerA single index entry created on multiple columns to optimize specific multi-column queries 5. What is query optimization? AnswerImproving execution efficiency via index selection, plan analysis, and query rewriting 6. What is ACID? AnswerA set of properties ensuring that database transactions are processed reliably and safely 7. What is BASE (Eventual Consistency)? AnswerA design philosophy prioritizing availability and scale by relaxing strict consistency rules 8. What is sharding? AnswerDistributing a large dataset across multiple independent database instances or servers 9. What is replication? AnswerMaintaining synchronized copies of the database across multiple servers to ensure availability 10. What is CAP theorem? AnswerThe principle that a distributed system can only provide two of three specific guarantees 11. What is materialized view? AnswerA database object that contains the results of a query and is stored on disk for speed 12. What is transaction isolation level? AnswerA setting that defines the degree to which transactions are visible to other concurrent operations 13. What is n+1 query problem? AnswerA performance antipattern where an application makes separate queries for each related item 14. What is EXPLAIN in databases? AnswerA diagnostic statement that returns the execution plan chosen by the query optimizer 15. What is referential integrity? AnswerA state where all foreign key values correctly correspond to existing primary keys 16. What is a deadlock in databases? AnswerA situation where two or more transactions are permanently blocked by locks the others hold 17. What is connection pooling? AnswerMaintaining a cache of open database connections to be reused by multiple requests 18. What is optimistic vs pessimistic locking? AnswerTwo concurrency models that differ in whether they lock data before or after a transaction 19. What is OLTP vs OLAP? AnswerTwo workload categories: one for real-time transactions and one for complex data analysis 20. What is database partitioning? AnswerThe process of dividing a large table into smaller, more manageable pieces on a single server 21. What is a window function? AnswerA function that performs calculations across a set of table rows related to the current row 22. What is a CTE (Common Table Expression)? AnswerA temporary named result set that can be referenced within a single SQL statement 23. What is write-ahead logging (WAL)? AnswerA technique where changes are recorded in a log before being applied to the main database 24. What is schema migration? AnswerThe management of incremental, reversible changes to a database schema over time 25. What is the hot table problem? AnswerA performance bottleneck caused by high contention for locks on a single, popular table 26. What is read replica? AnswerA read-only copy of the primary database used to offload traffic from the master node 27. What is lazy loading vs eager loading? AnswerTwo strategies defining whether related data is fetched on-demand or during the initial query 28. What is database backup strategy? AnswerA defined plan combining full, incremental, and log backups to enable data recovery 29. What is a primary key design consideration? AnswerThe decision between using inherent domain data or system-generated IDs as identifiers 30. What is database caching strategy? 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"Share on Pinterest")[Email]() ## Comments Was this useful? ## You might also enjoy More posts on similar topics [![SQL: Query Fundamentals & Database Concepts](/_astro/hero.D3xocvS5_1Ar7Mb.webp)](/quizzes/post/sql-query-fundamentals-quiz) ## [SQL: Query Fundamentals & Database Concepts](/quizzes/post/sql-query-fundamentals-quiz) - [Mohammad Abu Mattar](/authors/mohammad-abu-mattar) - [SQL](/quizzes/categories/sql) - [Databases](/quizzes/categories/databases) - [Quizzes](/quizzes/categories/quizzes) Welcome to the SQL Basics Quiz! Relational databases hold the data behind most modern applications. 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