statistics basic concepts variables in statistics variables are numbers or characteristics that can be counted or measured for example age length and weight could be variables even the height of a building each of these numbers represents a variable which can change or take on different values for example Lucas has just met the five newest members of his family he wants to keep an eye on their health so he starts recording their weight Chiara is the smallest of the litter weighing 4.5 pounds then there's Simba who's five pounds Rocky 4.8 Nala 4.6 and Bruno who's five in
this case the variable is weight which changes depending on the dog if Lucas wanted to track their growth more closely he could measure other variables like their height or length giving him a larger data set which just means more information these types of variables are called quantitative variables which can be expressed are reflected in numbers but there are also qualitative variables too which are characteristics that can only be expressed in words for people it might be things like ethnicity profession or gender if Lucas decided to replace his quantitative variables with qualitative ones he could swap
the numbers for traits like the dog's coat or eye code these variables are descriptive using words rather than numbers as you can see there are different types of variables we can consider when collecting data to learn more basic concepts in statistics check out our other videos are the free tutorial on our website at gcfglobal.org GCF Global creating opportunities for a better life
