A Level Computer Science OCR Practice Exam

In which scenario would you typically use the SQL NOT operator?

1. To retrieve all records from the database

2. To identify records that do not meet criteria

3. To ensure all conditions are met

4. To combine multiple logical statements

The correct answer is: To identify records that do not meet criteria

The SQL NOT operator is utilized specifically to filter records that do not satisfy a given condition. It negates a condition in a SQL query, returning only those records where the specified criteria are false. For example, if you want to find all employees who are not in a particular department, using the NOT operator allows you to exclude those departments from the results. In contrast, other options do not align with the function of the NOT operator. Retrieving all records from the database does not require any negation, while ensuring all conditions are met relates more to using AND conditions in SQL. Combining multiple logical statements typically involves using AND, OR, and NOT together but does not exclusively pertain to the NOT operator's purpose. Hence, the selected scenario is the most accurate application of the SQL NOT operator.