2 Functional Equivalence

In the following set of questions, we will define a new terminology. Your task is to

understand the terminology and apply it to the concepts you have learnt in this module.

Consider a relation R. We say that two sets of attributes a and B (e.g., we can have

a = {A, B} or a = {A,B,C} or even a = {4}) are functionally equivalent if and

only if the two following two functional dependencies holds in R:

• a → B

• B+a

NOTE: This is different from two sets of functional dependencies being equivalent.

Using the given definition above, answer the following questions. There may be more

than one correct answers, you are to select ALL of them.