Question

Determine whether the data are from discrete data or continuous data set.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety collects data consisting of the numbers of motor vehicle fatalities caused by driving while texting.

Short answer

The number of fatalities caused while texting and driving is discrete data.

Step-by-step solution

Given information

The number of motor vehicle fatalities resulting from texting and driving at the same time is recorded by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Discrete and continuous data

• Discrete data:

Numerical values that can be counted and are whole numbers are called discrete data. These values cannot be halved. For example, the number of tosses of a coin, the number of food packets, the number of computer sets in a building, etc.

• Continuous data:

Numerical values that cannot be counted but measured are called continuous data. These values can be in decimals. For example, the probability of rain, the time taken to cook a dish, the weight of fruits in a basket, etc.

Classification of data

As the number of fatalities can be counted, they form a discrete data set.