27/9/21 18:06 MindTap - Cengage Learning

1. Identifying discrete and continuous random variables

Suppose a researcher compiled a data set consisting of the following random variables for a sample of 200 retired men. For each random variable, select

whether it is discrete or continuous.

Random Variable Discrete Continuous

Age

Weight in pounds

The number of sons or daughters

The number of countries ever visited

Highest grade completed

Points: 0.8 / 1

Explanation: Close Explanation

A continuous random variable is one that theoretically can have an infinite number of values between adjacent units on the scale. A discrete random

variable is one in which there are no possible values between adjacent units on the scale. The number of countries ever visited and the number of
sons or daughters are both counts (0, 1, 2, ...). They are discrete random variables, because there is a finite number of possible values between

any two counts. For example, between 1 and 3, there is only one possible value: 2. Highest grade completed is not a count, but there is also a finite
number of possible values between any two values, so it is also a discrete random variable.

Measurements such as weight, length, temperature, and elapsed time are continuous random variables, because they are not limited to a finite set

of values. Picture a number line; a measurement can lie anywhere along a segment or segments of the number line. Weight in pounds and age are
examples of continuous random variables

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