RHODES UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

INFORMATION SYSTEMS 201

ALTERNATIVE SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT: JUNE 2021

Internal Examiners: Mr E de la Rey

Prof G Foster
Dr K van der Schyff MARKS: 150
Ms L Salamntu SUB-MINIMUM: 60

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

1. The paper consists of four (4) sections:

SECTIONS A - D: Multiple Choice. Answer all sections on RUConnected.

SECTION A: Systems Analysis (60 Marks)

SECTION B: UID1 (User Interface Design) (30 Marks)
SECTION C: UID2 (Information Architecture) (30 Marks)
SECTION D: Database Theory (30 Marks)

TOTAL: 150 MARKS

2. There are ninety-one (91) questions. Answer ALL questions.

3. Time management is very important.

4. The Oxford Concise English dictionary may be used during this examination.

5. This paper has thirty-three (33) pages.

 SECTION A
Analysis
Answer this section on RUConnected.

Choose only one (1) answer per question.

(60 Marks)

Question 1

(1 Mark)
Question 2

(3 Marks)
Question 3

(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 2 of 33

Question 4

(1 Mark)
Question 5

(1 Mark)
Question 6

(1 Mark)
Question 7

(1 Mark)

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Question 8

(1 Mark)
Question 9

(1 Mark)
Question 10

(1 Mark)
Question 11

(1 Mark)

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Question 12

(1 Mark)
Question 13

(3 Marks)
Question 14

(1 Mark)

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Question 15

(1 Mark)
Question 16

(1 Mark)
Question 17

(1 Mark)
Question 18

(1 Mark)

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Question 19

(1 Mark)
Question 20

(1 Mark)
Question 21

(1 Mark)
Question 22

(1 Mark)

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Question 23

(5 Marks)
Question 24

(2 Marks)

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Question 25

(12
Marks)
Question 26

(4 Marks)

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Question 27

(6 Marks)

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Question 28

(5 Marks)

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 SECTION B
User Interface Design (Usability)
Answer this section on RUConnected.

Choose only one (1) answer per question.

(30 Marks)

Question 29

Which of the following is exclusively a user interface design process?

a) Waterfall model
b) Agile process
c) User-centred design process
d) Participatory design
e) None of the above
(1 Mark)

Question 30

You drag a folder to make a copy of its contents. An animation appears on the screen, showing
files moving from one folder to another. This is an example of which of the following?

a) Visibility
b) Mapping
c) An affordance
d) Feedback
e) All the above
(1 Mark)

Question 31

Which of the following are cues used in direct manipulation?

a) Affordance
b) Natural mapping
c) Visibility
d) Feedback
e) All the above
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 12 of 33

Question 32

Which law/principle states that the more choices presented to users, the longer it takes them to
make a decision?

a) Fitts’s Law
b) Heuristic principle
c) Hick’s Law
d) Gestalt principle
e) Steering task
(1 Mark)

Question 33

Keeping the user informed of the system’s state applies to which of Nielsen’s heuristics?

a) Match between system and the real world

b) Recognition rather than recall
c) Aesthetic and minimalist design
d) Visibility of system status
e) Consistency and standards
(1 Mark)

Question 34

Which interface element is best suited for x-of-n choices?

a) Toggle button
b) Radio button
c) Drop-down menu
d) Checkboxes
e) Listbox
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 13 of 33

Question 35

Which of the following are valid ways to avoid having a bad user interface?

i. Speak to experts who study user interfaces

ii.Build prototypes
iii.
Limit the functionality the user can customize to minimise the interface
iv.Make sure the back end of the system works well before presenting the user with the
interface to avoid confusing the users with bugs and getting bad interface advice
v. Talk to users

a) i.
b) i. and ii.
c) ii. and v.
d) i, ii. and v.
e) iii., iv. and v.

(2 Marks)

Question 36

To help users recognize rather than remember an interface, we can

a) provide them a full detailed manual with visual examples.

b) provide many interactive features they want in the system.
c) provide them with a list of shortcut keys they can use while interacting with an
interface.
d) All the above.
e) None of the above.

(1 Mark)

Question 37

You want to email a file to a friend. You start a new message, type in the body, write your
name at the end, and then press Send; forgetting to attach the file. This is best described as
a:

a) capture error
b) mode error
c) description error
d) mistake
e) none of the above

(2 Marks)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 14 of 33

Question 38

In a Virtual Salad Bar program, the user can choose only one salad dressing: Italian, Ranch, or
French. Which of the following is the most appropriate standard interface element to use?

a) 3 radio buttons
b) 3 toggle buttons
c) 3 checkboxes
d) Listbox with 3 choices
e) Drop-down menu with 3 choices
(1 Mark)

Question 39

Which techniques will help to make a mode less error-prone?

a) Make it temporary
b) Make it spring-loaded
c) Make it more visibly apparent
d) All the above
e) None of the above
(1 Mark)

Question 40

Assuming the mouse pointer starts at point M (Figure 1), which button will be the fastest to
access?

Figure 1

a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) A and C are equally the fastest
(3 Marks)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 15 of 33

Question 41

Figure 2 illustrates various types of affordance. What affordance does label D represent?

Figure 2

a) Correct rejection
b) Hidden affordance
c) False affordance
d) Perceptible affordance
e) False-positive affordance
(2 Marks)

Question 42

Which interface element is best suited to allow users to identify their current location within
the system?

a) Search field
b) Breadcrumb
c) Pagination
d) Tags
e) None of the above
(1 Mark)

Question 43

The user’s mental model:

a) consists of processors and memories

b) is beyond the control of the UI designer
c) is influenced by affordances
d) should be identical to the system model
e) None of the above
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 16 of 33

Question 44

Affordances are:

i. possibilities for using an object or interface.

ii. the costs of buying user interface components.
iii. the completion times for a typical task.
iv. classified into real and perceived affordances.

a) i and ii
b) i and iii
c) ii and iii
d) i and iv
e) iii and iv
(2 Marks)

Question 45

In a heuristic evaluation:

a) a group of usability experts judges an interface with a detailed checklist of guidelines.

b) a group of test users conducts a formal experiment.
c) a group of psychologists administers a questionnaire.
d) a group of usability experts reviews a user interface according to a small set of general
principles.
(1 Mark)

Question 46

In the HSV colour model, what colour is the fully unsaturated colour of red?

a) Black
b) White
c) Pink
d) Green
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 17 of 33

Question 47

Indicate all the dimensions of usability that can be evaluated in a heuristic evaluation:

i. learnability
ii. efficiency
iii. errors
iv. memorability
v. satisfaction

a) i and ii
b) i and iii
c) ii and iii
d) i, iii and v
e) i, ii, iii and iv
(2 Marks)

Question 48

A good heuristic evaluation should generally include:

i. efficiency measurements
ii. estimates of severity
iii. principles of user interface design
iv. screenshots
v. users from the target user population

a) i and ii
b) ii and iii
c) i, ii and iii
d) ii, iii and iv
e) i, ii, iii and v
(2 Marks)

Question 49

The Apple Watch interface in Figure 3 is mostly reliant on which usability heuristic:

Figure 3
a) Match between system and the real world
b) User control and freedom
c) Help and documentation
d) Error prevention
e) Recognition rather than recall
(2 Marks)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 18 of 33

 SECTION C
UID2 (Information Architecture)
Answer this section on RUConnected.

Choose only one (1) answer per question.

(30 Marks)

Question 50

Which one of the following is a valid information seeking model?

a) Information gathering cycle

b) Information seeking cycle
c) Pearl growing
d) Phased searching
e) Scattered searching
(2 Marks)

Question 51

Which one of the following forms of learning does contextual navigation usually facilitate?

a) Post-hoc learning
b) Learning by association
c) Assessment-driven learning
d) Local learning
e) Interface-driven learning
(2 Marks)

Question 52

Which one of the following is not a characteristic of global navigation?

a) Should be present on each page of the website.

b) Allows access to core webpages or website functionality.
c) Its design is primarily influenced by user needs.
d) It has to be tested thoroughly.
e) It is usually placed at the bottom of a webpage.
(2 Marks)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 19 of 33

Question 53

Which of the following are not typically associated with a card sorting exercise?

1. Asking your card sorting participants to develop an initial wireframe.

2. Labelling about 20 to 25 index cards or pieces of paper.
3. Not numbering the index cards or pieces of paper.
4. Asking a typical user (your card sorting participants) to place these cards in piles that
makes sense to him or her.
5. Making a note of the cards or pieces of paper on each pile.
6. Creating a summary at the end of the card sorting exercise.

a) 1,3
b) 3,5
c) 2,6
d) 4,6
e) 2,5
(2 Marks)

Question 54

Which of the following are valid variant terms when considering the semantic map illustrated
below?

1. Weddings
2. Bubbly
3. Mimosas
4. Wine
5. Champagne
6. Brut Champagne

a) 3,6
b) 2,5
c) 1,5
d) 4,6
e) 3,4
(2 Marks)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 20 of 33

Question 55

Which one of the following is a result of incorrectly implementing labels on a website?

a) The labels do not accurately represent the website content.

b) The labels are accurate.
c) The website is difficult to support from a programming perspective.
d) Senior management is able to save money.
e) None of the answer options are correct.
(2 Marks)

Question 56

Which of the following accurately describe the purpose of thesauri?

1. Thesauri connect words or terms to antonyms, synonyms, homonyms as well as the

narrower and broader terms.
2. Thesauri model searching algorithms.
3. Thesauri enables a design to avoid ambiguity.
4. Thesauri are commonly used to guide interviews.
5. Thesauri visually illustrated wireframes.
6. Thesauri visually illustrated blueprints.

a) 1,6
b) 1,3
c) 4,5
d) 2,6
e) 2,5
(2 Marks)

Question 57

If a website had product categories which appeared on every webpage throughout the entire
information architecture, these categories would be part of which form of navigation?

a) Guides
b) Wizards
c) Sitemaps
d) Indexes
e) Embedded
(2 Marks)

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Question 58

Which one of the following is not a guideline when designing labels for a website?

a) The labels should avoid confusion

b) The labels should cater for a specific business context.
c) The labels should be consistent in their design.
d) The users, context, and content of the website should always be used to guide the label
design efforts.
e) The labels should expose the file structure of the website.
(2 Marks)

Question 59

Users typically ask which of the following questions when they use a website?
1. Where they are.
2. What they can’t find on the website.
3. The contact details of the other website users.
4. The technical specifications of the website.
5. How to navigate on the website.
a) 1,4
b) 3,4
c) 2,3
d) 1,5
e) 2,4
(2 Marks)

Question 60

Which one of the following is a core design goal of an information architecture?

a) To accurately model information seeking behaviour.

b) To accurately model user wants and needs.
c) To accurately model the technical needs of the designer.
d) To accurately model the intentions of the website designer.
e) To accurately model the requirements of senior management.
(2 Marks)

Question 61

Which one of the following is not a reason to implement a sub-site?

a) There are unique design requirements.

b) There are unique functional requirements.
c) There are unique programming language requirements.
d) There are different content teams that work on the same website.
(2 Marks)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 22 of 33

Question 62

(6 Marks)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 23 of 33

 SECTION D
Database Theory
Answer this section on RUConnected.

Choose only one (1) answer per question.

(30 Marks)

Question 63

When is it appropriate to use 1NF for the database design?

a) All repeating groups have been eliminated and the primary key has been identified
b) All repeating groups have been eliminated
c) Every determinant is a candidate key
d) The data has been denormalised to improve performance
e) All repeating groups contains no partial dependencies
(1 Mark)

Question 64

Which of the following is necessary for a Relational Table to exhibit “entity integrity”?

a) Have a primary key that uniquely identifies each entity

b) Primary key nor any part of it can contain null values
c) Every table to have a primary key
d) All of these answers are correct
e) None of these answers are correct
(1 Mark)

Question 65

________ database design is adequate for most businesses

a) 1NF
b) 2NF
c) 3NF
d) 4NF
e) BCNF
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 24 of 33

Question 66

The table is in the 4NF when?

a) 3NF and contains no multivalued dependencies

b) 3NF and contains multivalued dependencies
c) 3NF
d) 3NF and contains numerous null values
e) 3NF and contains no partial dependencies
(1 Mark)

Question 67

Data anomaly leads to the combination of which of the following?

i. Deletion anomalies
ii. Update anomalies
iii. Insertion anomalies
iv. Creation anomalies
v. All of these

a) i
b) i, iv
c) i, ii, iii
d) v
e) ii, iii
(1 Mark)

Question 68

Data anomalies are avoided by the process of:

a) Normalization
b) Rational database modeling
c) Communication
d) Data elimination
e) Designing business rules
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 25 of 33

Question 69

Study the following ERD and select the most appropriate relationship between the Employee
and Dependent.

EMPLOYEE DEPENDENT

is assigned to
PK EMPLOYEE_NUM PK DEPENDENT_NUM

EMPLOYEE_NAME DEPENDENT_NAME

a) An employee has zero or one dependent but a dependent can belong to one and only
one employee
b) An employee has no dependent but a dependent can belong to many employees
c) A dependent belongs to many employees but an employee has one and only one
dependent
d) An employee has one dependent but a dependent can belong to one and only one
employee
e) An employee has one and only dependent but a dependent can belong to zero or one
employee
(1 Mark)

Question 70

The database management system (DBMS) is the software that interacts with ________in order
to capture and analyze the data.

a) End users and Applications

b) End Users and designers
c) Applications
d) All of these answers are correct
e) None of these answers are correct
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 26 of 33

Question 71

Note the following business rule:

“A customer can make many payments, but each payment is made by only one customer”

Which of the crow’s foot notation below accurately reflects this relationship? Choose the
correct diagram.
a)

b)

c)

d)

e) None of the above

(1 Mark)

Question 72

Study the ERD and answer the question that follows:

LECTURER COURSES
Manages

Which of the following best describes the relationship in the ERD above?

a) 1:1
b) M:N
c) 1:M
d) All of these answers are correct
e) None of the answers are correct
(1 Mark)

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Question 73

Which of the following is true of NoSQL databases?

a) They do not support distributed database architectures

b) They are geared towards transaction consistency rather than performance
c) They do not support very large amounts of sparse data
d) They are not based on the relational model
e) None of these answers are correct
(1 Mark)

Question 74

An Entity Supertype can have_____.

a) Only one subtype

b) Many subtypes
c) No subtypes
d) Many supertypes
e) Only one supertype
(1 Mark)

Question 75

An example of OVERLAPPING entity subtypes in a university environment could be:

a) Lecturer and student

b) Post grad-student and under-grad student
c) Professor and under grad-student
d) Lecturer and pastor
e) PhD student and honours student
(1 Mark)

Question 76

An example of DISJOINT entity subtypes in a university environment could be:

a) Dean and Student

b) Lecturer and Researcher
c) Professor and Lecturer
d) All of these answers are correct
e) None of these answers are correct
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 28 of 33

Question 77

In a university environment, student and lecturers are an example of what supertype?

a) Person
b) Gender
c) University
d) Employee
e) Professor
(1 Mark)

Question 78

A transitive dependency occurs when there are________

a) Functional dependencies
b) Partial dependencies
c) Repeating group
d) Foreign keys
e) Surrogate keys
(1 Mark)

Question 79

In a Chen model, multivalued attributes are indicated by using a(an)_____

a) Double line
b) Dotted line
c) Single line
d) Upward arrow
e) Downward arrow
(1 Mark)

Question 80

The M:N relationships can be implemented by creating a new entity in:

a) 1:1 relationship
b) 1:M relationships
c) More sophisticated M:N relationships
d) All of these answers are correct
e) None of these answers are correct
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 29 of 33

Question 81

A secondary key is used strictly for?

a) Data retrieval
b) Data confirmation
c) Data verification
d) Displaying data
e) Communicating data
(1 Mark)

Question 82

Database designers are often forced to make______

a) Data anomalies
b) Design compromises
c) Data redundancies
d) All of these answers are correct
e) None of these answers are correct
(1 Mark)

Question 83

Data is modelled to______

a) Manage data as a resource and to integrate information systems

b) Facilitate interaction between the designer, software developers and the end-users
c) Facilitate communication
d) All of these answers are correct
e) None of these answers are correct
(1 Mark)

Question 84

A training session cannot be scheduled for fewer than ten employees or more than 30 employees.
Which of the following best describes the relationship, nouns and verb used in this question?

i. Trainer and Employees are examples of nouns

ii. Schedule is an example of a verb
iii. Fewer than ten or more than 30 employees is an example of a constraint
iv. There is a 1:M relationship between the employee and training sessions

a) i only
b) iv
c) i, ii, iii
d) ii
e) All of these answers are correct
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 30 of 33

Question 85

Big data is characterised by _______

a) High volume, velocity and variety

b) Complex information
c) Refined data
d) Single data model
e) Organised data
(1 Mark)

Question 86

M: N relationships are deconstructed into ____ relationship[s] using a _____in order to be

implementable in a relational database. Select the correct combination of answers:

i. 1:M
ii. Composite Entity
iii. M:1
iv. 1:1
v. Relationship
vi. Constraint
a) iv only
b) i and ii
c) iv and ii
d) ii only
e) ii, iii and v
(2 Marks)

Question 87

A partial dependency can exist only if a table’s primary key is composed of:

a) Three or more attributes

b) Several attributes
c) One attribute
d) Non-prime attribute
e) No matching attribute
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 31 of 33

Question 88

Another name for a composite entity is a(n)________

a) Bridge entity
b) Associative entity
c) Linked entity
d) Associative entry
e) None of these answers are correct
(1 Mark)

Question 89

Which of the following diagrams represents a Crow’s Foot notation?

a)

b)

c)

d)

e)
(1 Mark)

Information Systems 201 Examination: June 2021 Page 32 of 33

Question 90

Study the following SUPPLIER Schema:

SUPPLIER (SUP_CODE, SUP_CITY, SUP_PROVINCE)

The attribute SUP_CITY records the name of the city in which the supplier is located
and the attribute SUP_PROVINCE records the province in which the suppler is
located. There are two provinces and four cities respectively, Eastern Cape (Makhanda
and Gqeberha), and Free State (Bloemfontein and Welkom).

The relationship between SUP_CITY and SUP_PROVINCE is best described as:

a) Partial dependency
b) Transitive dependency
c) Partial and Transitive dependency
d) Primary dependency
e) Secondary dependency
(1 Mark)

Question 91

Study the following SUPPLIER Schema:

SUPPLIER (SUP_CODE, SUP_CITY, SUP_PROVINCE)

The attribute SUP_CITY records the name of the city in which the supplier is located
and the attribute SUP_PROVINCE records the province in which the suppler is located.
There are two provinces and four cities respectively, Eastern Cape (Makhanda and
Gqeberha), and Free State (Bloemfontein and Welkom).

The relationship between SUP_CODE and SUP_PROVINCE is best described as:

a) Partial dependency
b) Transitive dependency
c) Partial and Transitive dependency
d) Primary dependency
e) Secondary dependency
(1 Mark)

END OF EXAMINATION

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