Question

In Exercises 21-28,determine which of the four levels of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) is most appropriate.

Body Temperatures: Body temperatures (in degrees Fahrenheit) listed in Data Set 3 “Body Temperatures” in Appendix B.

Short answer

The appropriate level of measurement for body temperatures measured in degrees Fahrenheit is aninterval.

Step-by-step solution

Given information

The body temperatures are recorded in degrees Fahrenheit.

Classification of data according to the level of measurement

The level of measurement is different for different types of data:

• Nominal: This scale requires the values to label each given category under a variable. For example, labeling seasons as 1 for winter, 2 for summer, 3 for spring, and 4 for fall in no particular order.

• Ordinal: This scale requires an increasing/decreasing order assigned to the values of the variable. For example, ranking of students in a class. The difference between each ranking is not fixed and does not indicate anything.

• Interval: This scale requires that the values are equally spaced. For example, scores in an IQ test. Here, a zero score does not imply zero or no level of IQ.

• Ratio: This scale requires the ratio of the values to exist and have a meaning. For example, the Kelvin scale of temperature measurement. Zero Kelvin means no heat, and 70 Kelvin is twice as hot as 35 Kelvin.

Identification of the appropriate scale

Since a temperature measured in degrees Fahrenheit is quantitative and equally spaced, but the absolute zero value does not mean “no heat”; so it is measured on aninterval scale.