What are the problems if one were not to normalize?  When do these problems surface?          

Ans:  Database normalization, sometimes considered to as  canonical synthesis, is a method for designing relational database tables to minimize duplication of information and, in so doing, to preserve the database against specific types of logical or structural problems, that are data anomalies. For instance, when multiple instances of a given piece of information take place in a table, the possibility exists that these examples will not be kept consistent while the data within the table is updated, leading to a loss of data integrity. A table that is adequately normalized is less vulnerable to problems of this type, as its structure reflects the basic assumptions for while multiple instances of similar information should be denoted by a single instance only.