Question 371 markShort AnswerSection D

Number of records from LOANS table where Rate of Interest (RoI) is above 7.0.

Structured Query Language (SQL)
SQL COUNT() with WHERE Condition

Official answer

SQL Query:

``sql

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM LOANS WHERE RoI > 7.0;

``

This counts only those LOANS records whose Rate of Interest exceeds 7.0%.

Answer keywords:COUNT(*)WHERE clauseaggregate functionRoILOANS tableSQL SELECT

Marking scheme

  1. 1.1 mark for the complete correct query: SELECT COUNT(*) FROM LOANS WHERE RoI > 7.0;

Hint

COUNT(*) with a WHERE clause gives the number of rows satisfying a condition.

Quick oral answer

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM LOANS WHERE RoI > 7.0 counts how many loan records have an interest rate above 7 percent.

Common mistakes

  1. 1.Writing WHERE RoI > 7 without matching the column's decimal data type/format precisely.
  2. 2.Using SELECT * instead of SELECT COUNT(*), which lists all matching rows instead of returning a single count.

Analysis and explanation

COUNT(*) is the standard way to count matching rows without needing GROUP BY when only a single overall total is required.


Concept

  • WHERE RoI > 7.0 filters rows before COUNT(*) tallies them.
  • COUNT(*) counts rows regardless of NULLs in any particular column, unlike COUNT(column_name).

Exam trap

  • Using SELECT instead of SELECT COUNT() lists every matching row instead of returning a single numeric count, which does not answer 'number of records'.

Interesting facts

COUNT(*) is generally the fastest counting form in most RDBMS engines because it does not need to check individual column values for NULL.

MySQL evaluates the WHERE clause before any aggregate function is applied, which is why filtering and counting can be combined in a single simple query here.

Question details

Q37 of 48 questions

Board
CBSE
Class
Class 12
Subject
Computer Science
Year
2026
Section
Section D
Marks
1
Type
Short Answer
Chapter
Structured Query Language (SQL)
Topic
SQL COUNT() with WHERE Condition
Bloom's level
apply
Syllabus topic
Unit 2: Database Management — SQL: COUNT(*) aggregate function combined with a WHERE condition on a numeric column
Author
CBSE
Reviewed by
Padhantu Academic Team

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between COUNT(*) and COUNT(RoI)?

COUNT(*) counts all rows matching the WHERE condition regardless of NULL values, while COUNT(RoI) would ignore rows where RoI is NULL; for a clean numeric column like RoI, both usually give the same result.

Does the WHERE clause run before or after COUNT(*)?

Before — WHERE filters individual rows first, and only the rows that pass the condition are then counted by COUNT(*).