Answer to Problem 2.6

Yes. Notice, you can't even think about an answer until you know the identifier of the table. Clearly, it is [Bookstore, Location]. It appears (to me) that the only functional dependency is:

[Bookstore, Location] —> Store's best seller

This is consistent with 2NF.

On the contrary, if you argue that

Location —> Store's best seller

then you are saying the following:

Always, for a particular location (such as Ann Arbor), there is the same best seller for all bookstores in that location (although it can change from date to date). Always.”

If you (the analyst) found out that the above statement is true, then I'd agree with you that the table is not in 2NF. But I'd also question that finding very strenuously.

Return to 2nd normal form discussion.

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