Which SQL query will correctly raise the salary by 10% for employees in the…

2025

Which SQL query will correctly raise the salary by 10% for employees in the 'HR' department who currently earn less than 50,000?

  1. A.

    MODIFY employees SET salary = salary + 10% WHERE department = 'HR' AND salary < 50000;

  2. B.

    UPDATE employees SET salary = salary * 1.10 WHERE department = 'HR' AND salary < 50000;

  3. C.

    UPDATE employees SET salary = salary * 10% WHERE department = 'HR';

  4. D.

    UPDATE employees SET salary = salary + 5000 IF department = 'HR' AND salary < 50000;

Attempted by 99 students.

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Correct answer: B

To modify existing records in a relational database, standard SQL uses the UPDATE statement alongside a SET clause to specify the modifications, and a WHERE clause to filter the targeted rows.

To increase a value by 10%, you mathematically multiply the current value by 1.10 (which represents 100% + 10%). The conditions specified in the problem statement require checking two things:

  1. The department must be 'HR' (department = 'HR').

  2. The current salary must be strictly less than 50,000 (salary < 50000).

Combining these requirements yields the standard SQL syntax:

UPDATE employees  
SET salary = salary * 1.10  
WHERE department = 'HR' AND salary < 50000;

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