Question

ER-diagram attributes are represented by ____.

• A. Ellipse
• B. Circle
• C. Triangle
• D. Arrows

Hint:

Remember the ER Diagram symbols:
• Rectangle $\rightarrow$ Entity
• Ellipse (Oval) $\rightarrow$ Attribute
• Diamond $\rightarrow$ Relationship
• Underlined Attribute $\rightarrow$ Primary Key

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Concept: An Entity-Relationship (ER) Diagram is a graphical representation of a database structure. It illustrates entities, attributes and relationships among entities. Different symbols are used for different components:
• Rectangle $\rightarrow$ Entity
• Ellipse (Oval) $\rightarrow$ Attribute
• Diamond $\rightarrow$ Relationship
• Lines $\rightarrow$ Connect entities, attributes and relationships

Step 1: Understand what an attribute is.
An attribute describes a property or characteristic of an entity. For example, if Student is an entity, then:
• Student ID
• Name
• Age
• Address are its attributes. These are represented in an ER diagram using: \[ \boxed{\text{Ellipse (Oval)}} \]

Step 2: Know the standard ER diagram symbols.
{|l|l|} Component & Representation
Entity & Rectangle
Attribute & Ellipse (Oval)
Relationship & Diamond
Connecting Link & Straight Line
These symbols are standardized and widely used in database design.

Step 3: Analyse the options.

• Ellipse -- Represents attributes. (Correct)
• Circle -- Not a standard ER diagram symbol.
• Triangle -- Not used in ER diagrams.
• Arrows -- Not used to represent attributes.

Step 4: Final conclusion.
Therefore, ER-diagram attributes are represented by: \[ \boxed{\text{Ellipse}} \]