oldoc63
commented
2 years ago Continuous Random Variables
When the possible values of a random variable are uncountable, it is called a continuous random variable. These are generally measurements variables and are uncountable because measurements can always be more precise -meters, centimeters, millimeters, etc.
For example, the temperature in Los Angeles on a randomly chosen day is a continuous random variable. We can always be more precise about the temperature by expanding to another decimal place (96 degrees, 96.44 degrees, 96.437 degrees, etc.)
Discrete Random Variables
Random variables with a countable number of possible values are called discrete random variables. For example, rolling a regular 6-sided die would be considered a discrete random variable because the outcome options are limited to the numbers on the die.
Discrete random variables are also common when observing counting events, such as how many people entered a store on a randomly selected day. In this case, the values are countable in that they are limited to whole numbers (you can't observe half of a person).