As you may already know data is a set of values based on facts, figures or other pieces of information that we use to learn about something.
For example, the number of dogs per family in a town.
That data can be presented in different ways. Data can be measured (such as length or weight) or numerical (basically numbers). We call these continuous data and discrete data.
Continuous data
Continuous data is measured. Continuous data can take on any value as it’s measured.
For example:
Your weight. Your weight can be any weight within the range of human weights. Your weight is not a specific fixed number.
Time in a race. A race can be timed to a millisecond. Again it’s not set to a specific fixed number.
Discrete Data
Discrete date, on the other hand, can only take on integer values, and it is typically things counted in whole numbers. Discrete data is based on counts where only a finite number of values is possible.
Discrete Data can only take certain values.
For example:
Kids per class. How many students there are in each classroom in your school.
Apples on a tree. The number of apples on each tree in an orchard.
Discrete data can also be categorical, such as green or blue, male or female, good or bad.
