DP-900 Describe core data concepts Practice Question
A company stores product information such as product ID, name, price, and category in a relational database with rows and columns. This data is best described as:
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse 'transactional data' (a workload type) with 'structured data' (a data format), leading candidates to pick D because product information is often used in transactions, but the question asks about the data's structure, not its purpose.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Structured data
Structured data conforms to a predefined schema with rows and columns, making it easily searchable and queryable via SQL. The product information (ID, name, price, category) fits this model exactly, as each attribute has a fixed data type and is stored in a relational database table.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Structured data
Why this is correct
Structured data is correct because the product information—such as product ID and name—is organized into well-defined rows and columns with a fixed schema. This rigid, tabular format is the hallmark of structured data, which typically resides in relational databases and can be queried using SQL. The attributes (product ID and name) map directly to columns, and each product instance maps to a row, perfectly satisfying the definition of structured data.
- ✗
Semi-structured data
Why it's wrong here
Semi-structured data is incorrect because it does not enforce a strict row-and-column schema; instead, it uses flexible formats like JSON or XML with tags or keys to organize content. While the product information described could theoretically be represented as semi-structured data, the question implies a simple, fixed attribute set—product ID and name—that fits naturally into a relational table. The lack of a nested or self-describing structure, such as hierarchies or variable fields, distinguishes this scenario from semi-structured data.
- ✗
Unstructured data
Why it's wrong here
Unstructured data is incorrect because it has no predefined data model or organization, making it impossible to store as simple product ID and name pairs in rows and columns. Examples like audio, video, and image files lack inherent semantic structure and require complex processing to extract meaning, unlike the clearly defined attributes in the question. Since product ID and name are discrete, typed values, they are inherently organized, ruling out unstructured data.
- ✗
Transactional data
Why it's wrong here
Transactional data is incorrect because it describes the origin or purpose of data—namely, records generated by business transactions such as sales orders or payments—not its structural characteristics. Product information like ID and name is reference or master data, which describes a static entity, rather than a transactional record. Even if transactional data can be structured, the classification based on format is independent of whether the data is transactionally generated, so this option misclassifies the nature of the data.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Data Roles and Core Concepts
Key term
Data
Data is raw, unprocessed information, like numbers, words, or measurements, that can be stored, processed, and analyzed by computers.
Key term
Relational database
A relational database organizes data into tables with rows and columns, where each table relates to others using unique keys, allowing efficient storage, retrieval, and manipulation of structured information.
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