Question

State whether each of the following random variables is discrete or continuous. a. The number of courses a student is enrolled in b. The time spent completing a homework assignment c. The length of a person's forearm d. The number of times out of 10 throws that a dog catches a Frisbee

Short answer

a. Discrete \n b. Continuous \n c. Continuous \n d. Discrete

Step-by-step solution

- Analyzing Variable a.

The first variable is the number of courses a student is enrolled in. You can count the number of courses, and there can't be a fraction of a course. Therefore, this variable is discrete.

- Analyzing Variable b.

The second variable is the time spent completing a homework assignment. Time is a continuous measure, it can take any positive value, and it can also be broken down into smaller units indefinitely (seconds can be broken down into milliseconds, etc.). Therefore, this variable is continuous.

- Analyzing Variable c.

The third variable is the length of a person's forearm. Similar to time, length is a continuous measure, it can take any positive value, and it can also be broken down into smaller units indefinitely. Therefore, this variable is continuous.

- Analyzing Variable d.

The final variable is the number of times out of 10 throws that a dog catches a Frisbee. This variable is countable and can't take a fraction, therefore, this variable is discrete.