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Introduction of ER Model
Last Updated : 17 Nov, 2025

The Entity-Relationship Model (ER Model) is a conceptual model for designing a

databases. This model represents the logical structure of a database, including entities,
their attributes and relationships between them.

Entity: An objects that is stored as data such as Student , Course or Company.

Attribute: Properties that describes an entity such as StudentID, CourseName, or
EmployeeEmail.
Relationship: A connection between entities such as "a Student enrolls in a Course".

Components of ER Diagram

The graphical representation of this model is called an Entity-Relation Diagram (ERD).

ER Model in Database Design Process

We typically follow the below steps for designing a database for an application.

Gather the requirements (functional and data) by asking questions to the database
users.
Create a logical or conceptual design of the database. This is where ER model plays a
role. It is the most used graphical representation of the conceptual design of a
database.
After this, focus on Physical Database Design (like indexing) and external design (like
views)

Why Use ER Diagrams In DBMS?

ER diagrams represent the E-R model in a database, making them easy to convert into
relations (tables).
These diagrams serve the purpose of real-world modeling of objects which makes them
intently useful.
 Unlike technical schemas, ER diagrams require no technical knowledge of the
underlying DBMS used.
They visually model data and its relationships, making complex systems easier to
understand.

Symbols Used in ER Model

ER Model is used to model the logical view of the system from a data perspective which
consists of these symbols:

Symbols used in ER Diagram

What is an Entity?
An Entity represents a real-world object, concept or thing about which data is stored in a
database. It act as a building block of a database. Tables in relational database represent
these entities.

Example of entities:

Real-World Objects: Person, Car, Employee etc.

Concepts: Course, Event, Reservation etc.
T hings: Product, Document, Device etc.
 The entity type defines the structure of an entity, while individual instances of that type
represent specific entities.

What is an Entity Set?

An entity refers to an individual object of an entity type, and the collection of all entities of
a particular type is called an entity set. For example, E1 is an entity that belongs to the
entity type "Student," and the group of all students forms the entity set.

In the ER diagram below, the entity type is represented as:

Entity Set

We can represent the entity sets in an ER Diagram but we can't represent individual
entities because an entity is like a row in a table, and an ER diagram shows the structure
and relationships of data, not specific data entries (like rows and columns). An ER diagram
is a visual representation of the data model, not the actual data itself.

Types of Entity
There are two main types of entities:

1. Strong Entity

A Strong Entity is a type of entity that has a key Attribute that can uniquely identify each
instance of the entity. A Strong Entity does not depend on any other Entity in the Schema
for its identification. It has a primary key that ensures its uniqueness and is represented by
a rectangle in an ER diagram.

2. Weak Entity

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strong entity to be identified. A weak entity is associated with an identifying entity (strong
entity), which helps in its identification. A weak entity are represented by a double
rectangle. The participation of weak entity types is always total. The relationship between
the weak entity type and its identifying strong entity type is called identifying relationship
and it is represented by a double diamond.
Example:

A company may store the information of dependents (Parents, Children, Spouse) of an

Employee. But the dependents can't exist without the employee. So dependent will be a
Weak Entity Type and Employee will be identifying entity type for dependent, which
means it is Strong Entity Type.

Strong Entity and Weak Entity

Attributes in ER Model
Attributes are the properties that define the entity type. For example, for a Student entity
Roll_No, Name, DOB, Age, Address, and Mobile_No are the attributes that define entity
type Student. In ER diagram, the attribute is represented by an oval.

Attribute

Types of Attributes

1. Key Attribute

The attribute which uniquely identifies each entity in the entity set is called the key
attribute. For example, Roll_No will be unique for each student. In ER diagram, the key
attribute is represented by an oval with an underline.

Key Attribute

2. Composite Attribute
An attribute composed of many other attributes is called a composite attribute. For
example, the Address attribute of the student Entity type consists of Street, City, State,
and Country. In ER diagram, the composite attribute is represented by an oval comprising
of ovals.

Composite Attribute

3. Multivalued Attribute

An attribute consisting of more than one value for a given entity. For example, Phone_No
(can be more than one for a given student ). In ER diagram, a multivalued attribute is
represented by a double oval.

Multivalued Attribute

4. Derived Attribute

An attribute that can be derived from other attributes of the entity type is known as a
derived attribute. e.g.; Age (can be derived from DOB). In ER diagram, the derived attribute
is represented by a dashed oval.

Derived Attribute

The Complete Entity Type Student with its Attributes can be represented as:
 Entity and Attributes

Relationship Type and Relationship Set

A Relationship Type represents the association between entity types. For example,
‘Enrolled in’ is a relationship type that exists between entity type Student and Course. In
ER diagram, the relationship type is represented by a diamond and connecting the entities
with lines.

Entity-Relationship Set

A set of relationships of the same type is known as a relationship set. The following
relationship set depicts S1 as enrolled in C2, S2 as enrolled in C1, and S3 as registered in
C3.

Relationship Set
Degree of a Relationship Set
The number of different entity sets participating in a relationship set is called the degree
of a relationship set.

1. Unary/Recursive Relationship: When there is only ONE entity set participating in a

relation, the relationship is called a unary relationship. For example, one person is married
to only one person.

Unary Relationship

Read more about - Recursive Relationship

2. Binary Relationship: When there are TWO entities set participating in a relationship,
the relationship is called a binary relationship. For example, a Student is enrolled in a
Course.

Binary Relationship

3. Ternary Relationship: When there are three entity sets participating in a relationship,
the relationship is called a ternary relationship.

Ternary Relationship
4. N-ary Relationship: When there are n entities set participating in a relationship, the
relationship is called an n-ary relationship.

N-ary Relationship

Cardinality in ER Model
The maximum number of times an entity of an entity set participates in a relationship set
is known as cardinality.

Cardinality can be of different types:

1. One-to-One

When each entity in each entity set can take part only once in the relationship, the
cardinality is one-to-one. Let us assume that one person can be issued only one passport,
and one passport is issued to only one person. So, the relationship will be One-to-One (1 :
1), meaning that each person has a single passport, and each passport belongs to a single
person.

one to one cardinality

Using Sets, it can be represented as:

 Set Representation of One-to-One

2. One-to-Many

In a one-to-many relationship, one entity can be associated with multiple entities. For
example, a single Surgeon Department can have many Doctors. Therefore, the cardinality
of this relationship is 1 to M, meaning one department can have many doctors.

one to many cardinality

Using sets, one-to-many cardinality can be represented as:

Set Representation of One-to-Many

3. Many-to-One

When entities in one entity set can take part only once in the relationship set and entities
in other entity sets can take part more than once in the relationship set, cardinality is
many to one.

Let us assume that multiple surgeries can be performed by one surgeon, but one surgery is
performed by only one surgeon. So, the cardinality will be M to 1, meaning that many
surgeries can be done by a single surgeon, but each surgery is done by only one surgeon.

many to one cardinality

Using Sets, it can be represented as:

Set Representation of Many-to-One

In this case, each student is taking only 1 course but 1 course has been taken by many
students.

4. Many-to-Many

When entities in all entity sets can take part more than once in the relationship cardinality
is many to many. Let us assume that an employee can work on multiple projects and each
project can have multiple employees working on it. So, the relationship will be many-to-
many (M:N), meaning that one employee may be associated with several projects, and one
project may involve several employees.
 many to many cardinality

Using Sets, it can be represented as:

Many-to-Many Set Representation

In this example, student S1 is enrolled in C1 and C3 and Course C3 is enrolled by S1, S3,
and S4. So it is many-to-many relationships.

Participation Constraint
Participation Constraint is applied to the entity participating in the relationship set.

1. Total Participation: Each entity in the entity set must participate in the relationship. If
each student must enroll in a course, the participation of students will be total. Total
participation is shown by a double line in the ER diagram.
2. Partial Participation: The entity in the entity set may or may NOT participate in the
relationship. If some courses are not enrolled by any of the students, the participation in
the course will be partial.

The diagram depicts the 'Enrolled in' relationship set with Student Entity set having total
participation and Course Entity set having partial participation.
 Total Participation and Partial Participation

Using Set, it can be represented as,

Set representation of Total Participation and Partial Participation

Every student in the Student Entity set participates in a relationship but there exists a
course C4 that is not taking part in the relationship.

How to Draw an ER Diagram

1. Identify Entities: The very first step is to identify all the Entities. Represent these
entities in a Rectangle and label them accordingly.
2. Identify Relationships: The next step is to identify the relationship between them and
represent them accordingly using the Diamond shape. Ensure that relationships are not
directly connected to each other.
3. Add Attributes: Attach attributes to the entities by using ovals. Each entity can have
multiple attributes (such as name, age, etc.), which are connected to the respective
entity.
4. Define Primary Keys: Assign primary keys to each entity. These are unique identifiers
that help distinguish each instance of the entity. Represent them with underlined
attributes.
5. Remove Redundancies: Review the diagram and eliminate unnecessary or repetitive
entities and relationships.
6. Review for Clarity: Review the diagram make sure it is clear and effectively conveys the
relationships between the entities.