Question

State whether the data described below are discrete or? continuous, and explain why. The volumes left parenthesis in cubic feet right parenthesis of different rooms Choose the correct answer below. A. The data are discrete because the data can take on any value in an interval. B. The data are discrete because the data can only take on specific values. C. The data are continuous because the data can take on any value in an interval. D. The data are continuous because the data can only take on specific values.

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

The data are continuous because the data can take on any value in an interval. (C)

Explanation:

Discrete data are data that can take on certain limited values. There is a limit to what values can be assigned to such data. For example, the number of children in a school will just be whole numbers, either 20 or 50 or 55 or 108, etc, you cannot have 100.5 children. This makes it limited to the values it can take on, hence it is discrete

Continuous data, on the other hand, are data that can take on any value within a scale. The possibility of assigning a value is unlimited. for example height. The height can be 3m, 3.8m, 4.57m, etc, there's no limit to the possibility that a height can take. Other examples are; temperature, weight, acceleration, volume etc. In this example the volume of a room in cubic feet can be 30ft³, 50.6ft³, etc. The possibilities are endless, hence it is a continuous data.