Esri ArcGIS Pro Foundation Certification Practice Test

If taking an average of values is logical, what type of data is being used?

1. Qualitative data

2. Nominal data

3. Continuous data

4. Discrete data

The correct answer is: Continuous data

When considering the logical approach to taking an average of values, continuous data is the most appropriate type. Continuous data consists of numerical values that can take on an infinite number of values within a given range. This allows for meaningful calculations of averages, as each value represents a point on a scale. For example, if measuring temperature, height, or weight, these measurements can be averaged meaningfully to provide a central tendency representative of the dataset. Since continuous data can be broken down into smaller increments, it is suitable for various statistical analyses, including calculating means and other descriptive statistics. In contrast, qualitative data, such as categories or labels, do not lend themselves to averaging since they represent distinct groups without a meaningful numerical representation. Nominal data is a subset of qualitative data that categorizes items without any order, while discrete data comprises distinct, separate values, often counted rather than measured, which may limit averaging since the values are not on a continuous scale.