Final answer:
In the context of whether individuals smoke cigarettes or not, the correct classification of the data is categorical, as it pertains to characteristics that place individuals into distinct categories. Other instances provided as examples include discrete and continuous quantitative data, and categorical data for house colors.
Step-by-step explanation:
Regarding the question Whether or not people smoke cigarettes. Quantitative or categorical?, the correct answer is a) Categorical. The distinction is based on the type of data being evaluated.
When considering whether people smoke cigarettes or not, we are dealing with a characteristic that places individuals into distinct categories based on their smoking status. This is different from quantitative data which would involve numerical values that allow us to perform arithmetic operations on the data.
In the contexts provided:
- The number of times per week represents quantitative discrete data because it is a countable number of events.
- The duration of time is an example of quantitative continuous data because it can take on any value within a given range, including fractions and decimals.
- The colors of houses would be categorical data because they are qualities or characteristics that can’t be quantified.