Topics: Variable (Statistics) - Statistics
In statistics, a quantitative variable is a variable that describes quantities, instead of qualities.
Of course, quantitative variables can be discrete or continuous, depending on the set where they take values.
In descriptive statistics, quantitative variables can be:
- Of ratio, where there is a definite starting point (e.g. height, distance)
- Of interval, where a starting point can’t be defined or there can be negative values (e.g. time, temperature, etc.)
Examples
Examples of quantitative variables are:
- The lifespan of a light bulb, measured in seconds (continuous of ratio)
- The amount of children in a family (discrete of ratio)
- The amount of people in a family (discrete of ratio)
- The weight of a person in kilograms (continuous of ratio)