1. What is the difference between data, information and knowledge? Provide an example

of each.

- Data are raw facts or observations that are not meaningful by themselves. Information

is data that has been processed, organized or structured to provide meaning and context.

Knowledge is information that has been analyzed, interpreted or applied to a specific

situation or problem. For example, the number 42 is data, the answer to the question

"What is the meaning of life?" is information, and the understanding of why 42 is the

answer is knowledge.

2. What are the main components of a database system? Explain the functions of each

component.

- A database system consists of four main components: data, database management

system (DBMS), database applications and users. Data are the facts or information

stored in the database. DBMS is the software that manages the data and provides access,

manipulation and security functions. Database applications are programs that interact

with the DBMS and allow users to perform various tasks with the data, such as

querying, updating, reporting and analyzing. Users are the people or organizations that

use the database system for their needs.

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a relational database model over

a hierarchical or network database model?

- A relational database model organizes data into tables (or relations) that consist of

rows (or tuples) and columns (or attributes). Each row represents an entity or an instance

of an entity type, and each column represents a property or an attribute of an entity type.

A hierarchical database model organizes data into a tree-like structure, where each node

represents an entity or a record, and each branch represents a relationship or a link

between entities. A network database model organizes data into a graph-like structure,

where each node represents an entity or a record, and each edge represents a relationship

or a link between entities. Some advantages of using a relational database model are: