The following data describes the magnitude measurements randomly selected from 6 earthquakes recorded in one year from a location in southern Califormia: 6.6 2.2 18.5 7.0 13.7 5.9 The magnitude is measured by MAG on the Richter scale. What type of the data is the magnitude? a) Continuous numeric b) Discrete numeric c) Continuous categorical d) Nominal categorical

Answer: The magnitude is: a) continuous numeric.

Step-by-step explanation:

The magnitude is a numeric variable because it represents quantities. These are variables that you can measure or count. A numeric variable can be classified into discrete or continuous. In the present problem, the magnitude is a continuous variable. It can take any number within a scale, and you can find infinite values between two values on the scale. For example, you could measure earthquakes of magnitude 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6 ... and so on, following a continuous scale.

On the other hand, if the variable is numeric and discrete, it can only take certain finite values. For example, when you count the number of trees per acre. The number of trees will be always an integer. You can find 1, 2, or 3 trees, but you'll never count 2.5 trees.

Categorical variables don't represent quantities. They represent attributes. For example, apple colors: green and red.