A survey or college students collected information on several variables: distance from home, age, major, gender, and class. The variable major is
A) neither categorical nor numerical
B) categorical
C) quantitative
Please help :)
To determine the nature of the variable "major," we need to understand the definitions of categorical and numerical variables.
A categorical variable, also known as a qualitative variable, takes on non-numerical values and represents characteristics or qualities. Examples include gender (male/female), hair color (blonde/brunette/red), or favorite color (blue/green/red).
A numerical variable, also known as a quantitative variable, takes on numerical values and represents quantities or measurements. Examples include age (20, 25, 30), distance (in miles), or GPA (3.2, 3.7, 4.0).
In the given scenario, the variable "major" represents the field of study chosen by college students. Since major represents a characteristic or quality, it does not involve numerical values. Therefore, the correct answer is B) categorical.