The questions this addresses are:
- How can I get data from a database?
- How can I sort a query's results?
- How can I remove duplicate values from a query's results?
- How can I select subsets of data?
- How can I calculate new values on the fly?
- How do databases represent missing information?
- What special handling does missing information require?

The objectives are:
- Explain the difference between a table, a record, and a field.
- Explain the difference between a database and a database manager.
- Write a query to select all values for specific fields from a single table.
- Write queries that display results in a particular order.
- Write queries that eliminate duplicate values from data.
- Write queries that select records that satisfy user-specified conditions.
- Explain the order in which the clauses in a query are executed.
- Write queries that calculate new values for each selected record.
- Explain how databases represent missing information.
- Explain the three-valued logic databases use when manipulating missing information.
- Write queries that handle missing information correctly.