A variable measured on a continuum with infinite possible values is called what?

A variable measured on a continuum with infinite possible values is called what?

• A. Discrete Variable
• B. Continuous Variable
• C. Nominal Scale
• D. Ordinal Scale

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that a variable measured on a continuum can take infinitely many values within a range. That makes it a continuous variable. You can always measure a value a little more precisely and get another distinct value—height, temperature, and time are classic examples. Discrete variables, by contrast, have only separate, countable values (like the number of people in a room). Nominal and ordinal refer to categories: nominal has no natural order (colors, types), while ordinal has order but the intervals between categories aren’t necessarily equal. So, when a measurement could be any value along a continuum with infinitely many possibilities, it fits as a continuous variable.

The key idea is that a variable measured on a continuum can take infinitely many values within a range. That makes it a continuous variable. You can always measure a value a little more precisely and get another distinct value—height, temperature, and time are classic examples. Discrete variables, by contrast, have only separate, countable values (like the number of people in a room). Nominal and ordinal refer to categories: nominal has no natural order (colors, types), while ordinal has order but the intervals between categories aren’t necessarily equal. So, when a measurement could be any value along a continuum with infinitely many possibilities, it fits as a continuous variable.