Discrete variables are a type of numerical data that can take on a finite or countably infinite number of values within a specific range
. They are countable in a finite amount of time and can be plotted as points on a chart
. Some common examples of discrete variables include the number of children in a family, the number of books in a library, or the number of employees in a company. Key characteristics of discrete variables are:
- They can take on a finite or countably infinite number of values
- They can be plotted as points on a chart
- They reflect ordinal and integer values, which can be negative or positive whole numbers
Discrete variables are different from continuous variables, which can take on any value within a range and can be plotted as a line
. While discrete variables are countable, continuous variables are measurable and cannot be counted
