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Classify each of the following attributes as either categorical or numerical. Fo

ID: 3301227 • Letter: C

Question

Classify each of the following attributes as either categorical or numerical. For those that are numerical, determine whether they are discrete or continuous. (a) Number of students in a class of 35 who turn in a term paper before the due date. categorical numerical (discrete) numerical (continuous) (b) Gender of the next baby born at a particular hospital. categorical numerical (discrete) numerical (continuous) (c) Amount of fluid (in ounces) dispensed by a machine used to fill bottles with soda pop. categorical numerical (discrete) numerical (continuous) (d) Thickness of the gelatin coating of a vitamin E capsule. categorical numerical (discrete) numerical (continuous) (e) Birth order classification (only child, firstborn, middle child, lastborn) of a math major. categorical numerical (discrete) numerical (continuous)

Explanation / Answer

a) Number of students here could only take discrete numerical values as it is countable from 0 to 35 as 0,1,2,3.....35

Therefore numerical ( discrete ) is the correct answer here.

b) Gender of the next born baby at a particular hospital is categorical variable as it could only take 2 categories: male or female.

Therefore categorical is the correct answer here.

c) Amount of fluids is a numerical uncountable thing is a continuous variable because the number of values possible here is infinite. The variable could take infinite values between 2 discrete variable.

Therefore numerical ( continuous ) is the correct answer here.

d) Thickness of coating is also a numerical ( continuous ) variable because it is numerical and could take any continuous infinite value between 2 discrete values.

e) Birth order classfication has categories and therefore it is a categorical variable ( it is not numerical )