How a field's data type changes sorting

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A field stores the numbers 9 and 10 as TEXT. What order does ORDER BY ... ASC put them in?

A 10 then 9, because text sorts letter by letter

B 9 then 10, because 9 is smaller

2. The points field is an INTEGER. Which result does ORDER BY points ASC give?

A 10, 120, 9, 95

B 9, 10, 95, 120

3. Why would '2', '10' and '100' come out as '10', '100', '2' in a query?

A The field is a text type, so it compares character by character

B The field is an integer type, so it compares by value

4. A date field (type DATE) is sorted with ORDER BY orderDate ASC. What order do you get?

A Alphabetical order by month name

B Oldest date first, in time order

5. Which fix will make a price column sort as 2, 10, 100?

A Store the prices in a number field such as INTEGER or REAL

B Store the prices in a longer text field

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1ORDER BY price ASC		A9 < 10
2ORDER BY orderDate DESC		BSorts rows by price from smallest to largest, using true number order when price is a number field
3In a text field, '10' sorts before '9' because text is compared one character at a time		CSorts rows by date with the newest first, because a date field follows time order
4A number field sorts by true value, so 9 comes before 10		DText dates sort alphabetically, so '3 Feb' comes after '25 Jan'. Use a date field or the YYYY-MM-DD form so dates sort in time order.
5Storing stock as text, then using ORDER BY stock ASC and expecting 9 before 10		E'10' < '9'
6Storing dates as text like '3 Feb 2026' and then using ORDER BY orderDate		FText sorts letter by letter, so '10' comes before '9'. The stock field should be a number data type such as integer.

Definitions

'10' < '9'

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

SELECT name, price FROM products ORDER BY _____;

SELECT firstName, points FROM students ORDER BY points ____;

SELECT orderId, orderDate FROM orders ORDER BY _________;

CREATE TABLE t (name TEXT, mark _______);

SELECT * FROM orders ________ orderDate DESC;

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A SELECT name, price

B FORM products

C ORDER BY price;

Question 2

A SELECT orderId, orderDate

B FROM orders

C ORDER orderDate ASC;

Question 3

A CREATE TABLE scores (

B points TEXT,

C name TEXT

D );

Question 4

A CREATE TABLE events (

B title TEXT,

C cost REAL,

D eventDate TEXT

E );

Question 5

A SELECT firstName, points

B FROM students;

C ORDER BY points DESC;

Answer Key

How a field's data type changes sorting

Section A: Quick Questions

A — 10 then 9, because text sorts letter by letter

B — 9, 10, 95, 120

A — The field is a text type, so it compares character by character

B — Oldest date first, in time order

A — Store the prices in a number field such as INTEGER or REAL

Section B: Match the Pairs

ORDER BY price ASC → Sorts rows by price from smallest to largest, using true number order when price is a number field

ORDER BY orderDate DESC → Sorts rows by date with the newest first, because a date field follows time order

In a text field, '10' sorts before '9' because text is compared one character at a time → '10' < '9'

A number field sorts by true value, so 9 comes before 10 → 9 < 10

Storing stock as text, then using ORDER BY stock ASC and expecting 9 before 10 → Text sorts letter by letter, so '10' comes before '9'. The stock field should be a number data type such as integer.

Storing dates as text like '3 Feb 2026' and then using ORDER BY orderDate → Text dates sort alphabetically, so '3 Feb' comes after '25 Jan'. Use a date field or the YYYY-MM-DD form so dates sort in time order.

Section C: Definitions

'10' < '9' — In a text field, '10' sorts before '9' because text sorts letter by letter. Number and date fields sort by true value, so 9 comes before 10 and dates follow time order.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

SELECT name, price FROM products
ORDER BY price;

SELECT firstName, points FROM students
ORDER BY points DESC;

SELECT orderId, orderDate FROM orders
ORDER BY orderDate;

CREATE TABLE t (name TEXT, mark INTEGER);

SELECT * FROM orders
ORDER BY orderDate DESC;

Section E: Spot the Error

B — FORM is a typo. The keyword is FROM. The price field is a number type, so ORDER BY price sorts by true value (4 before 12).

C — The clause needs the word BY. It should be ORDER BY orderDate ASC; so the dates sort in time order.

B — If points is stored as TEXT, '10' sorts before '9' because text sorts letter by letter. It should be INTEGER so ORDER BY sorts by true value.

D — Dates stored as TEXT such as '10/3/2026' and '9/3/2026' sort letter by letter, not in time order. The field should use the DATE type.

B — The semicolon ends the statement too early, so ORDER BY is left on its own. Only put the semicolon at the very end, after ORDER BY points DESC.