Mock Question Paper: Revised Pattern 2023-2024

Question 1 (20 Marks)

(a) Define data warehousing and explain its key components.

A data warehouse is a centralized repository of integrated data from various sources, structured for

querying and reporting. It is used to support decision-making processes by providing historical and

current data.

Key Components:

1. Data Sources: Operational databases, external systems, and applications from which data is

extracted.

2. ETL (Extract, Transform, Load): A process to extract data from sources, transform it into a useful

format, and load it into the data warehouse.

3. Data Warehouse Database: The central storage where cleaned and organized data is stored.

4. Metadata: Data about data, describing data structures, formats, sources, and transformations.

5. OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) Tools: Enable multi-dimensional analysis, reporting, and

querying.

6. Front-End Tools: Interfaces that allow users to generate reports and analyze the data.

(b) Differentiate between OLAP and OLTP, providing examples.

OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) systems are used for complex queries and analysis, focusing

on historical data to help in decision-making. OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) systems are

transactional systems used for day-to-day operations.

Example of OLAP: Analyzing sales trends over time using a sales data warehouse.

Example of OLTP: Recording a sale in a retail point-of-sale system.

(c) Discuss the various data warehouse architectures, including star schema, snowflake schema,

and fact constellation.

- Star Schema: In this design, a central fact table is connected to dimension tables, resembling a

star. It simplifies queries but can lead to data redundancy.

- Snowflake Schema: A variation of star schema where dimension tables are normalized, reducing

redundancy but making queries more complex.

- Fact Constellation: Involves multiple fact tables sharing dimension tables, supporting more

complex relationships and data integration.

(d) Explain the role of metadata in data warehousing and its benefits.

Metadata describes the structure, source, and meaning of data in the warehouse. It ensures data

consistency, improves data understanding, and enables efficient management of the data

warehouse by guiding ETL processes and user queries.

(e) Describe the challenges faced in data warehouse implementation and discuss strategies to

overcome them.

Challenges:

1. High Initial Cost: Implementing a data warehouse requires significant upfront investment in

hardware, software, and skills.

2. Data Integration: Integrating data from multiple, disparate sources can be complex.

3. Scalability: As data grows, the system must handle increasing data volume and query complexity.

Strategies to Overcome:

1. Starting small and scaling up based on business needs.

2. Using modern ETL tools that simplify data integration.

3. Implementing scalable cloud-based data warehouse solutions.

Question 2 (20 Marks)

(a) Define data mining and explain its objectives.

Data mining is the process of discovering patterns, correlations, and insights from large datasets

using machine learning, statistics, and database systems. The objective is to transform raw data into

useful knowledge that can aid decision-making.

(b) Describe the KDD process in detail.

The Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) process includes:

1. Data Selection: Identifying and extracting relevant data from a larger dataset.

2. Data Preprocessing: Cleaning and transforming data into a usable format.

3. Data Transformation: Reducing dimensionality and converting data into appropriate forms.

4. Data Mining: Applying algorithms to discover hidden patterns or relationships.

5. Interpretation: Analyzing the discovered patterns to draw meaningful conclusions.

(c) Discuss the different types of data that can be mined.

1. Transactional Data: Data generated from business transactions such as sales or purchases.

2. Spatial Data: Information related to geographic locations and objects.

3. Multimedia Data: Data from images, videos, and audio files.

4. Web Data: Information collected from web activities and social media.

(d) Explain the concept of association rule mining and its applications.

Association rule mining identifies relationships or correlations between items in a dataset.

Applications include market basket analysis, where retailers discover product purchase patterns to

optimize sales and promotions.

(e) Describe the Apriori algorithm for association rule mining, including its steps and limitations.

The Apriori algorithm identifies frequent item sets and generates association rules. It works by

iteratively exploring item sets and filtering based on minimum support levels. However, it can be

computationally expensive for large datasets.

Question 3 (20 Marks)

(a) Explain the importance of data preprocessing in data mining.

Data preprocessing prepares raw data for mining by cleaning, transforming, and reducing it. Proper

preprocessing enhances the quality of data, leading to more accurate and meaningful patterns

during mining.

(b) Discuss various data preprocessing techniques.

1. Handling Missing Values: Methods like imputation or deletion to deal with incomplete data.

2. Outlier Detection: Identifying and removing anomalous data points that may skew results.

3. Data Normalization: Standardizing data scales to ensure uniformity during analysis.

(c) Describe the concept of classification and its applications.

Classification assigns predefined labels to data points based on their features. Applications include

spam email filtering, fraud detection, and customer segmentation.

(d) Explain the decision tree algorithm for classification, including its steps and evaluation metrics.

A decision tree algorithm splits data into branches based on feature values, creating a tree-like

structure for decision-making. Evaluation metrics include accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score to

measure performance.
(e) Discuss the concept of clustering and its applications.

Clustering groups similar data points together based on their attributes. Applications include

customer segmentation, image compression, and anomaly detection.

Question 4 (15 Marks)

(a) Describe the relationship between data warehousing and data mining.

Data warehousing stores structured data that serves as the input for data mining processes. Data

mining extracts insights and patterns from the stored data, supporting decision-making.

(b) Discuss the challenges involved in integrating data from multiple sources for data warehousing.

Challenges include differences in data formats, structures, and quality across sources, leading to

complexity in consolidation. Additionally, ensuring data consistency and resolving duplicates can be

difficult.

(c) Explain how data mining techniques can be used to analyze data stored in data warehouses.

Data mining techniques like classification, clustering, and association rule mining help analyze large

datasets in data warehouses, uncovering hidden patterns, trends, and insights.

(d) Describe the ethical implications of data mining and discuss strategies to address them.

Ethical concerns include privacy violations, misuse of sensitive data, and biased decision-making.

Strategies include data anonymization, ensuring informed consent, and adhering to ethical

guidelines in data handling.

(e) Discuss the future trends in data warehousing and data mining.

Trends include the rise of cloud-based data warehousing, real-time analytics, AI-driven data mining

algorithms, and the integration of big data technologies to manage larger and more complex
datasets.