For Problem 2.3, I’m uncertain how to go about transforming the ER diagram into a relational schema. Do you have any suggestions?
Start by reviewing the slides on pages 26-34 of the coursepack. They outline the basic procedures for transforming an ER diagram into a relational schema, as well as a number of special cases that can affect how many tables you need and what their primary keys should be. In addition:
page 33 discusses foreign keys
page 34 gives a relational schema for the university database and discusses the foreign keys that are present in those tables.
Finally, in Lab 1, Task 1, we derived a relational schema from the ER diagram for the airline information database, and we recommend reviewing the solutions for that task.
For Problem 2.3, do we need to worry about capturing participation constraints?
No. It typically isn’t possible to capture participation constraints when converting an ER diagram to a relational schema.
However, you should include a description of any participation constraints in your answer to problem 2.2.
Last updated on January 28, 2026.