Identify each numerical quantity described below as "discrete" or "continuous" data.
1. Two slices of bread contains 153 calories per serving
2. The jeep speedometer points to 40km/h
3. Out of 300 students surveyed, 250 own a cellphone
4. A child gained 6.5lbs. after participating in the feeding program
5. From the current enrolment of Grade 10 students, 10% will not be able to finish the Senior High School Program
6. The average shoe size of the Grade 7 female students in Cairo Elementary School is 35 cm
7. There is an average of 3 children per family in Barrio Masikap
8. The distance from Earth to the Moon is approximately 384,400 km
PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO DISTINGUISH DISCRETE FROM CONTINUOUS
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Answer:
1. discrete
2. continuous
3. discrete
4. discrete
5. continuous
6. continuous
7. discrete
8. continuous
Discrete data is information that can only take certain values. These values don’t have to be whole numbers (a child might have a shoe size of 3.5 or a company may make a profit of £3456.25 for example) but they are fixed values – a child cannot have a shoe size of 3.72!
The number of each type of treatment a salon needs to schedule for the week, the number of children attending a nursery each day or the profit a business makes each month are all examples of discrete data. This type of data is often represented using tally charts, bar charts or pie charts.
Continuous data is data that can take any value. Height, weight, temperature and length are all examples of continuous data. Some continuous data will change over time; the weight of a baby in its first year or the temperature in a room throughout the day. This data is best shown on a line graph as this type of graph can show how the data changes over a given period of time. Other continuous data, such as the heights of a group of children on one particular day, is often grouped into categories to make it easier to interpret.