Math 143 C/E, Spring 2001
IPS Reading Discussion Questions
Chapter 1, Introduction (pp. 2-5)

1. Suppose you have a friend who intends to take a survey of classmates. Before designing the survey, he prepares a list of ``variables" whose values he wishes to know for each person. Here is his list:

   weight		male		class standing		has job
   height		female		hours worked per week

   
   What suggestions would you offer him concerning this list? Determine which of these variables are categorical and which are quantitative. In the case of a quantitative variable, indicate an appropriate unit of measure.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

2. What is the difference between a categorical and a quantitative variable? If the individuals are the members of this class and the variable is "gender", we may presume this to be a categorical variable. But what if we record a ``0" (zero) for each individual that is male and a ``1" for each that is female? Is it now a quantitative variable?