Studying for 1Z0-051: Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I

1Z0-051 is a required element of both the Database Administrator and Database Developer certification tracks. As such, this exam is one of the more common Oracle exams taken. Beyond the certification requirement, knowledge of SQL is extremely useful in the IT industry. The SQL Fundamentals exam is one of the easier tests that you will experience in becoming certified in Oracle. That said, you can still fail if you take it without being fully prepared. This article is intended to give you some insight into the test to assist in your study efforts.

All of the topics that will be covered in the 1Z0-051 exam are listed on the Oracle Education website. Oracle SQL contains numerous capabilities that are not listed there, but they will not show up on the test. The topic lists from Oracle Education are always complete. The SQL Fundamentals exam has forty-one topics in eleven subject areas. The test itself will have seventy multiple-choice or multiple-answer questions and you’ll have two hours to complete it. The passing score is sixty percent. For the multiple-answer questions, there is no partial credit. Not answering a question counts against your score as much as answering one incorrectly, so you don’t want to leave any question unanswered — even if that means simply picking a letter at random.

As you would expect, the majority of questions in 1Z0-051 will have a SQL statement involved. To do well on the test you must have a good grasp of SQL syntax rules. Sometimes the question will contain a statement and you will have to choose among answers that indicate what it does. Other questions will describe a desired result and the available answers will consist of different SQL statements. You will have to choose the SQL that best fits the request. When the SQL statements are in the answers, generally one or more of them will contain a syntax error that would prevent the SQL from running. If you look over all of the answers, you can generally rule one or more out for this reason. The SQL in the fundamentals exam tends to be relatively short and reasonably straightforward. You will need to recognize some commonly utilized SQL functions and understand the DDL syntax to create a handful of database object types. The vast majority of the questions involve SQL that database developers or administrators are likely to use reasonably often.

The exam contains a fairly high number of exhibits that provide information about the question being asked. They are primarily diagrams that provide background on the tables being referenced. The diagrams in 1Z0-051 are not particularly complicated, but viewing them eats into your test time. A fair number of people run out of time on Oracle certification tests before answering all of the questions, so you must use yours wisely. Using the exhibit is not always required to answer the question. While the test indicates that you should view the diagram and then answer the question, I would suggest the reverse. This can save time on occasions where the exhibit can be skipped. On questions where you do need to view it, you will know what to look for.

1Z0-051 is an entry-level SQL test as the name suggests. You do need a reasonable grounding in SQL, but if you have that, then you likely will pass the test. Make sure that you view all of the topics on the Oracle Education website. Ensure that you are well familiar with all of them before scheduling the exam. Good luck on the test.