D1.1 Describe the difference between discrete and continuous data, and provide examples of each.
Skill: Describing the Difference Between Discrete and Continuous Data
Quantitative data is either discrete or continuous.
Discrete data usually represents items that can be counted using whole numbers, such as the number of students in a class, the number of pencils in a pencil case, or the number of words in a sentence.
Continuous data usually consists of data that can be measured: length, mass, volume, time, or temperature, and can be represented by any numerical value, including decimal numbers and fractions, plotted on a number line between a minimum and maximum value.
Broken-line graphs, unlike bar graphs, are used to represent continuous data.
Examples
- Discrete Data (Data That Can Be Counted)
- Number of siblings
- Number of buttons
- Number of First Nations in Ontario
- Continuous Data (Infinite Number of Possible Values For a Given Range)
- Height
- Duration
- Temperature
Source: The Ontario Curriculum. Mathematics, Grades 1-8 Ontario Ministry of Education, 2020.