Salesforce Platform Developer Practice Exam 2026 – All-in-One Guide to Ace Your Certification!

In a master-detail relationship, the parent record and child records have a tightly coupled linkage. When a parent record is deleted, all associated child records are automatically deleted as well. This behavior upholds data integrity and maintains the hierarchical structure inherent to master-detail relationships. The automatic deletion ensures that there are no orphaned records left in the database that no longer have a corresponding parent.

In contrast, options outlining the conversion of child records to lookup relationships or the idea that they become orphaned are not accurate within the context of a master-detail relationship. Similarly, archiving child records does not occur; they are fully removed from the database upon deletion of the parent. The specific cascading delete feature of the master-detail relationship is key in Salesforce, as it streamlines data management and prevents potential issues that could arise from orphaned records.