Discrete vs continuous data
Discrete data | Continuous data |
Takes specific countable values | Takes any measured value within a specif ... |
Some common examples of discrete data ar ... | Some common examples of continuous data ... |
Ordinal data values and integer values r ... | Decimal numbers and fractions represent ... |
Easily counted on something as simple as ... | Requires more in-depth measurement tools ... |
What is an example of continuous data set?
A continuous data set (the focus of our lesson) is a quantitative data set that can have values that are represented as values or fractions. Weight, height, temperature, etc. are examples of measurement that would make up a continuous data set. Always remember this: you can't have half a basketball.
What is continuous data in physics?
Continuous data is data that can be measured on an infinite scale, It can take any value between two numbers, no matter how small. The measure can be virtually any value on the scale. Take length, for example. 100.2345 inches makes sense.
What is an example of a continuous variable?
Subsequently, question is, what is an example of a continuous variable? Some examples of variables in statistics might include age, eye color, height, number of siblings, gender, or number of pets. Our definition of a continuous variable also mentions that it's quantitative. Quantitative data involves quantities or numbers.
What can you learn from analysis of continuous data?
Continuous data can be measured on a scale. Analysis of continuous data will paint a picture of the characteristics of your process measures and process outputs. What you learn when you analyze your continuous data may surprise even the most experienced process expert. As W. E. Deming used to say: “In God we trust. Everyone else, bring data.”
What are 5 examples of continuous data?
Examples of continuous data:The amount of time required to complete a project.The height of children.The amount of time it takes to sell shoes.The amount of rain, in inches, that falls in a storm.The square footage of a two-bedroom house.The weight of a truck.The speed of cars.Time to wake up.
Is time an example of continuous data?
Length is a continuous measure. However, the count of 9.5 people standing in a queue doesn't make sense (half a person?). Count is a discrete measure. Measures of time, height, temperature, and thickness are all examples of continuous data.
What counts as continuous data?
Continuous variables can take on any value on a number line, whereas discrete variables can take on only integers. This is important in statistics because we measure the probabilities differently for discrete and continuous distributions.
What are 3 examples of discrete data?
Examples of discrete dataThe number of customers who bought different items.The number of computers in each department.The number of items you buy at the grocery store each week.
Is Sleep discrete or continuous?
discreteAmount of sleep is a variable. 3, 5, 9 hours of sleep are different values for that variable. Variables can be continuous or discrete. Question: Are these variables discrete or continuous?...Frequency distribution table:Score (X)Frequency (f)(Hours)(Number of people with this score)3142561 more row
Is shoe size continuous or discrete?
Discrete data is numerical data that can only take certain values. The number of people on a fair ground ride, the score on a pair of dice, or a shoe size are all examples of discrete data. Continuous data is numerical data that can take any value within a given range.
Which is not an example of continuous data?
Height is not an example of a continuous variable.
Is gender discrete or continuous?
Variable Reference Table : Few ExamplesVariableVariable TypeVariable ScaleGenderDiscreteCategoricalGender as Binary 1/0 CodingDiscreteCategoricalTrue/FalseDiscreteCategoricalPhone NumberDiscreteNominal15 more rows•Oct 7, 2016
Is gender a continuous variable?
Gender can be a continuous variable, not just a categorical one: Comment on Hyde, Bigler, Joel, Tate, and van Anders (2019)
What are three examples of continuous variables?
In general, quantities such as pressure, height, mass, weight, density, volume, temperature, and distance are examples of continuous random variables.
What are examples of discrete and continuous variables?
Difference between Discrete and Continuous VariableDiscrete VariableContinuous VariableExamples: Number of planets around the Sun Number of students in a classExamples: Number of stars in the space Height or weight of the students in a particular class3 more rows•Oct 12, 2020
Is time a continuous variable?
Time is a continuous variable. You could turn age into a discrete variable and then you could count it. For example: A person's age in years.
Is age an example of continuous data?
Age, used in its most traditional format, is an example of discrete data. People tend to say "I am 30 years old" rather than "I am 30.2 years old."...
How do you know if data is continuous?
Data is continuous its value is being applied to something that can be counted, not necessarily by whole numbers, but by fractions of itself. Conti...
What are some examples of continuous?
Some examples of continuous data include the weight of students in a class or even the height of students in a class. These are values that can ran...
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Surely, you can get all the study material on Vedantu mobile app- learn live online. You can also visit their website. You can get study material,...
3. What is the main difference between discrete and continuous data?
Discrete data is data that can only take certain values, while data that can take any value is continuous data.
4. Can we have both discrete data and continuous data from the same experiment?
If we have quantitative data, such as the correct number of questions on a test, then the data can be continuous or discrete. Finite values have di...
5. How to differentiate the obtained results as discrete and continuous data?
It is easy in many cases, discrete data is preceded by “the number of”, which makes the differentiation of results easier.
What is continuous data?
A continuous data set (the focus of our lesson) is a quantitative data set that can have values that are represented as values or fractions. Weight, height, temperature, etc. are examples of measurement that would make up a continuous data set. Always remember this: you can't have half a basketball.
Why is the number of posters in each class not a continuous data set?
The number of posters in each class isn't a continuous data set because we can't have 1 ½ posters; there's a finite number of posters, and they're represented only by whole numbers. The weight of each student in his class is a continuous data set because we can have decimals and fractions in each weight value.
What is a data set?
A data set is a grouping of information that's related to each other. A data set can be either qualitative or quantitative. A qualitative data set would consist of words that can be observed, not measured. A quantitative data set would consist of numbers that can be directly measured.
Is height a continuous measure?
Height isn't an absolute, discrete measurement; therefore, it's continuous, and the heights of the students in Moira's class would be considered a continuous data set. For our second example let's say that Timothy has to create data sets of information regarding his school. He needs to:
Is the number of basketballs in a gym continuous?
The number of basketballs in each gym wouldn't be a continuous data set because we can't have 1 1/2 basketballs; there's a finite number of basketballs, and the number of basketballs in each gym will be represented by a whole number.
What is continuous data?
Continuous data is data that can be measured on an infinite scale, It can take any value between two numbers, no matter how small. The measure can be virtually any value on the scale.
How to analyze continuous data?
1. Use Excel or a statistical and graphic computer program to analyze your continuous data. The days of plotting continuous data in histograms and calculating continuous data statistics by hand are long past. Find an analysis program that suits your needs and your budget.
What is the tool you want to use in graphic or statistical analysis?
The tool you want to use in graphic or statistical analysis will specifically require either continuous data or discrete data. If, for example, you accidentally use discrete data for a tool that requires continuous data, you can draw incorrect conclusions from the tool’s output.
What are the two types of data?
There are two categories of data: 1 Discrete data, which is categorical (for example, pass or fail) or count data (number or proportion of people waiting in a queue). 2 Continuous data is data that can be measured on an infinite scale, It can take any value between two numbers, no matter how small. The measure can be virtually any value on the scale.
Why is continuous data important?
2. It requires less data when used in graphic analysis and statistical tests. Continuous data is efficient — a little tells you a lot about the data. This is great news if your data is hard or expensive to collect. 3. It’s only as good as the measurement system that generates it.
What happens if continuous data is not stable?
If your continuous data plot is not stable, you should do some process improvement work to move it toward stability.
What is a data point that is above the upper specification limit?
Any data point above the upper specification limit or below the lower specification limit can be called defective. Anything between the upper and lower specification limits can be called non-defective. You now have a discrete data set called with two categories — defective and non-defective.
What is continuous data?
Continuous data is the data that can be of any value. Over time, some continuous data can change. It may take any numeric value, within a potential value range of finite or infinite.
What are the two categories of data?
For the purpose of analysis, data are presented as the facts and figures collected together. It is classified into two broad categories: qualitative data and quantitative data. It is not possible to measure qualitative data in terms of numbers and it is subdivided into nominal and ordinal data.
Why are ducks discrete?
A: Ducks in a pond are discrete data because the number of ducks is a finite number. The height of a student from age 5-15 is continuous data because the height varies continuously from age 5-15 which is not a constant for 10 years. The number of animals in a zoo is continuous data because the number of animals varies yearly depending on ...
What is discrete data?
Discrete data is data that can only take certain values, while data that can take any value is continuous data. 2. Can we have both discrete data and continuous data from the same experiment? If we have quantitative data, such as the correct number of questions on a test, then the data can be continuous or discrete.
Is the number of animals in a zoo continuous?
The number of animals in a zoo is continuous data because the number of animals varies yearly depending on the reproduction of new animals or the arrival of new animals. The result of the rolling is a dice is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Therefore this is discrete data. The number of books in a rack is a finite countable number.
Is qualitative data a continuous data?
It is not possible to measure qualitative data in terms of numbers and it is subdivided into nominal and ordinal data. Quantitative data, on the other hand, is one that contains numerical values and uses a scope. It is further classified as discrete data and continuous data.
What is continuous data?
Continuous Data. Continuous Data can take any value (within a range) Examples: A person's height: could be any value (within the range of human heights), not just certain fixed heights, Time in a race: you could even measure it to fractions of a second, A dog's weight, The length of a leaf, Lots more! Data Data Index.
Is data descriptive or continuous?
Discrete and Continuous Data. Data can be Descriptive (like "high" or "fast") or Numerical (numbers). And Numerical Data can be Discrete or Continuous:
What are the two types of quantitative data?
As we mentioned above the two types of quantitative data (numerical data) are discrete and continuous data . Continuous data is considered as the opposite of discrete data. Let’s see the definition: Continuous data is information that could be meaningfully divided into finer levels.
What is discrete data?
Discrete data is a count that involves integers. Only a limited number of values is possible. The discrete values cannot be subdivided into parts. For example, the number of children in a school is discrete data. You can count whole individuals.
What is numerical data?
Numerical data always include measuring or counting of numerical values.
Can you measure discrete data?
You cannot measure the data. By nature, discrete data cannot be measured at all. For example, you can measure your weight with the help of a scale. So, your weight is not a discrete data. It has a limited number of possible values e.g. days of the month. Discrete data is graphically displayed by a bar graph.
Is continuous data measurable?
The continuous data is measurable. It has an infinite number of possible values within an interval. Continuous data is graphically displayed by histograms. In comparison to discrete data, continuous data give a much better sense of the variation that is present.
What is continuous data?
Continuous data is made up of random variables, which may or may not be whole numbers. Continuous data is measured using data analysis methods such as line graphs, skews, and so on. Regression analysis is one of the most common types of continuous data analysis.
What are the characteristics of continuous data?
Unlike discrete data, continuous data can be either numeric or distributed over date and time. This data type uses advanced statistical analysis methods taking into account the infinite number of possible values. Key characteristics of continuous data are: 1 Continuous data changes over time and can have different values at different time intervals. 2 Continuous data is made up of random variables, which may or may not be whole numbers. 3 Continuous data is measured using data analysis methods such as line graphs, skews, and so on. 4 Regression analysis is one of the most common types of continuous data analysis.
Why is discrete data used in statistical analysis?
Discrete data is often used in simple statistical analysis because it's easy to summarize and compute. Let's look at some of the other key characteristics of discrete data. Discrete data includes discrete variables that are finite, numeric, countable, and non-negative integers (5, 10, 15, and so on).
What are some examples of discrete data?
Some common examples of discrete data are the number of students, the number of children, the shoe size, and so on. Some common examples of continuous data are height, weight, length, time, temperature, age, and so on. Ordinal data values and integer values represent discrete data.
What is national census?
The national census consists of discrete data, both qualitative and quantitative. Counting and collecting this identifying information deepens our understanding of the population.

Overview: What Is Continuous Data?
- There are two categories of data: 1. Discrete data, which is categorical (for example, pass or fail) or count data (number or proportion of people waiting in a queue). 2. Continuous datais data that can be measured on an infinite scale, It can take any value between two numbers, no matter how small. The measure can be virtually any value on the scale. Take length, for example. 100.2345 i…
Why Is Continuous Data Important to Understand?
- You must determine if the data generated by processes measures and/or process outputs is continuous in nature.
An Industry Example of Continuous Data
- Continuous data (temperature) from a curing oven was used to check if the curing oven could be used for a new product. The engineer needs the curing oven temperature to be centered around 200 degrees Fahrenheit and within 190 and 210 degrees Fahrenheit for the new product to be cured correctly. The engineer needs to: 1. Verify the temperature gage ...
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Continuous Data
- What graphs are good to use with continuous data? There are many! Histograms, box plots, control charts, and scatter diagrams are some of the most popular. Can continuous data be transformed into discrete data? Yes! You can do this by setting upper and/or lower specification limits for the continuous data set. Any data point above the upper specification limitor below th…
Some Final Thoughts on Continuous Data
- Continuous data can be measured on a scale. Analysis of continuous data will paint a picture of the characteristics of your process measures and process outputs. What you learn when you analyze your continuous data may surprise even the most experienced process expert. As W. E. Deming used to say: “In God we trust. Everyone else, bring data.”