PCDE Design and implement database schemas Practice Question
This PCDE practice question tests your understanding of design and implement database schemas. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company is using Cloud Spanner to manage financial transactions. The current schema has a single table 'Transactions' with a composite primary key (account_id, transaction_timestamp). The company frequently queries the latest transaction for each account. This query pattern is causing full table scans. Which schema design change would most improve query performance?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "primary"
Why it matters: Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a separate 'LatestTransaction' table keyed by account_id, and update it whenever a new transaction occurs
Option C is correct because it eliminates the need to scan the entire Transactions table to find the latest transaction per account. By maintaining a separate LatestTransaction table keyed by account_id, each account's latest transaction can be retrieved with a single point read. This is a classic denormalization pattern in Cloud Spanner that avoids the overhead of scanning or sorting large datasets for 'latest per group' queries.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Add a secondary index on (account_id, transaction_timestamp DESC)
Why it's wrong here
Still requires an index scan for each account to find the latest.
✗
Change the primary key to (transaction_timestamp, account_id) and use interleaving
Why it's wrong here
Interleaving does not help find max timestamp per account.
✓
Create a separate 'LatestTransaction' table keyed by account_id, and update it whenever a new transaction occurs
Why this is correct
Enables direct point reads for the latest transaction.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "primary" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Add a 'is_latest' boolean column to the Transactions table and index it
Why it's wrong here
Requires maintaining the boolean, and scanning the index still may be inefficient.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that a secondary index with DESC ordering can efficiently retrieve the latest row per group, but in Cloud Spanner, secondary indexes do not support 'top-N per group' without scanning all index entries for each group.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud Spanner uses distributed splits and interleaved tables to co-locate related rows. The LatestTransaction table approach leverages this by storing a single row per account, which can be updated atomically using a read-write transaction. This pattern is especially effective for high-throughput workloads where 'latest per group' queries are frequent, as it avoids the cost of scanning multiple splits or performing distributed queries across regions.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Design and implement database schemas — This question tests Design and implement database schemas — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a separate 'LatestTransaction' table keyed by account_id, and update it whenever a new transaction occurs — Option C is correct because it eliminates the need to scan the entire Transactions table to find the latest transaction per account. By maintaining a separate LatestTransaction table keyed by account_id, each account's latest transaction can be retrieved with a single point read. This is a classic denormalization pattern in Cloud Spanner that avoids the overhead of scanning or sorting large datasets for 'latest per group' queries.
What should I do if I get this PCDE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "primary". Asks for the main purpose or function, not a secondary benefit. Eliminate answers that describe side-effects or partial functions.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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