4/12/24, 6:41 PM Continuous or discrete variable - Wikipedia

Continuous or discrete variable

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In mathematics and statistics, a quantitative variable may be continuous or discrete if they are
typically obtained by measuring or counting, respectively.[1] If it can take on two particular real
values such that it can also take on all real values between them (including values that are arbitrarily
or infinitesimally close together), the variable is continuous in that interval.[2] If it can take on a value
such that there is a non-infinitesimal gap on each side of it containing no values that the variable can
take on, then it is discrete around that value.[3] In some contexts a variable can be discrete in some
ranges of the number line and continuous in others.

Continuous variable
A continuous variable is a variable whose value is
obtained by measuring, i.e., one which can take on an
uncountable set of values.

For example, a variable over a non-empty range of the

real numbers is continuous, if it can take on any value in
that range. The reason is that any range of real numbers
between and with is uncountable,
with infinitely many values within the range.[4]
Variables can be divided into two main
Methods of calculus are often used in problems in which categories: qualitative (categorical) and
the variables are continuous, for example in continuous quantitative (numerical). Continuous and
optimization problems.[5] discrete variables are subcategories of
quantitative variables. Note that this schematic
In statistical theory, the probability distributions of is not exhaustive in terms of the types of
continuous variables can be expressed in terms of variables.

probability density functions.[6]

In continuous-time dynamics, the variable time is treated as continuous, and the equation describing
the evolution of some variable over time is a differential equation.[7] The instantaneous rate of change
is a well-defined concept that takes the ratio of the change in the dependent variable to the
independent variable at a specific instant.

Discrete variable
In contrast, a variable is a discrete variable if and only if there exists a one-to-one correspondence
between this variable and , the set of natural numbers.[8] In other words; a discrete variable over a
particular interval of real values is one for which, for any value in the range that the variable is
permitted to take on, there is a positive minimum distance to the nearest other permissible value. The

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value of a discrete variable can be obtained by counting,

and the number of permitted values is either finite or
countably infinite. Common examples are variables that
must be integers, non-negative integers, positive
integers, or only the integers 0 and 1.[9]

Methods of calculus do not readily lend themselves to

problems involving discrete variables. Especially in
multivariable calculus, many models rely on the
assumption of continuity.[10] Examples of problems
involving discrete variables include integer
programming.

In statistics, the probability distributions of discrete

variables can be expressed in terms of probability mass
This is an image of vials with different amounts
functions.[6]
of liquid. A continuous variable could be the
volume of liquid in the vials. A discrete variable
In discrete time dynamics, the variable time is treated as
could be the number of vials.
discrete, and the equation of evolution of some variable
over time is called a difference equation.[11] For certain
discrete-time dynamical systems, the system response can be modeled by solving the difference
equation for an analytical solution.

In econometrics and more generally in regression analysis, sometimes some of the variables being
empirically related to each other are 0-1 variables, being permitted to take on only those two
values.[12] The purpose of the discrete values of 0 and 1 is to use the dummy variable as a ‘switch’ that
can ‘turn on’ and ‘turn off’ by assigning the two values to different parameters in an equation. A
variable of this type is called a dummy variable. If the dependent variable is a dummy variable, then
logistic regression or probit regression is commonly employed. In the case of regression analysis, a
dummy variable can be used to represent subgroups of the sample in a study (e.g. the value 0
corresponding to a constituent of the control group).[13]

Mixture of continuous and discrete variables

A mixed multivariate model can contain both discrete and continuous variables. For instance, a
simple mixed multivariate model could have a discrete variable , which only takes on values 0 or 1,
and a continuous variable .[14] An example of a mixed model could be a research study on the risk of
psychological disorders based on one binary measure of psychiatric symptoms and one continuous
measure of cognitive performance.[15] Mixed models may also involve a single variable that is discrete
over some range of the number line and continuous at another range.

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4/12/24, 6:41 PM Continuous or discrete variable - Wikipedia

In probability theory and statistics, the probability distribution of a mixed random variable consists of
both discrete and continuous components. A mixed random variable does not have a cumulative
distribution function that is discrete or everywhere-continuous. An example of a mixed type random
variable is the probability of wait time in a queue. The likelihood of a customer experiencing a zero
wait time is discrete, while non-zero wait times are evaluated on a continuous time scale.[16]

See also
Continuous or discrete spectrum Discrete modelling
Continuous function Continuous geometry
Count data Discrete geometry
Discrete mathematics Continuous series representation
Continuous spectrum Discrete series representation
Discrete spectrum Discretization
Discrete time and continuous time Interpolation
Continuous-time stochastic process Discrete measure
Discrete-time stochastic process Discrete space
Continuous modelling

References
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analysis" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5037948). Indian Journal of
Anaesthesia. 60 (9): 662–669. doi:10.4103/0019-5049.190623 (https://doi.org/10.4103%2F0019-5
049.190623). PMC 5037948 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5037948).
2. Kaliyadan, Feroze; Kulkarni, Vinay (January 2019). "Types of Variables, Descriptive Statistics, and
Sample Size" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6362742). Indian Dermatology
Online Journal. 10 (1): 82–86. doi:10.4103/idoj.IDOJ_468_18 (https://doi.org/10.4103%2Fidoj.IDO
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PMID 30775310 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30775310).
3. K.D. Joshi, Foundations of Discrete Mathematics, 1989, New Age International Limited, [1] (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=RM1D3mFw2u0C&dq=continuous+discrete+variable+math&pg=
PA7), page 7.
4. Brzychczy, Stanisaw; Gorniewicz, Lech (2011). "Continuous and discrete models of neural
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doi:10.1016/j.neucom.2010.11.005 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.neucom.2010.11.005).
5. Griva, Igor; Nash, Stephen; Sofer, Ariela (2009). Linear and nonlinear optimization (https://www.w
orldcat.org/oclc/236082842) (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Society for Industrial and Applied
Mathematics. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-89871-661-0. OCLC 236082842 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23
6082842).
6. Dekking, Frederik Michel; Kraaikamp, Cornelis; Lopuhaä, Hendrik Paul; Meester, Ludolf Erwin
(2005). "A Modern Introduction to Probability and Statistics" (https://doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-168-
7). Springer Texts in Statistics. doi:10.1007/1-84628-168-7 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2F1-84628-1
68-7). ISBN 978-1-85233-896-1. ISSN 1431-875X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1431-875X).

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7. Poyton, A. A.; Varziri, Mohammad Saeed; McAuley, Kimberley B.; MclellanPat James, Pat James;
Ramsay, James O. (February 15, 2006). "Parameter estimation in continuous-time dynamic
models using principal differential analysis". Computers & Chemical Engineering. 30 (4): 698–708.
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and Sets of Natural Numbers. North Holland Publishing Company. p. 18. ISBN 978-0444894830.
9. van Douwen, Eric (1984). Handbook of Set-Theoretic Topology. North Holland: Elsevier. pp. 113–
167. ISBN 978-0-444-86580-9.
10. Clogg, Clifford C.; Shockey, James W. (1988). Handbook of Multivariate Experimental Psychology.
Boston, Massachusetts: Springer Publishing Company. pp. 337–365. ISBN 978-1-4613-0893-5.
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ISBN 978-3319760285.
12. Miller, Jerry L.L.; Erickson, Maynard L. (May 1974). "On Dummy Variable Regression Analysis".
Sociological Methods & Research. 2 (4): 395–519. doi:10.1177/004912417400200402 (https://doi.
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14. Olkin, Ingram; Tate, Robert (June 1961). "Multivariate Correlation Models with Mixed Discrete and
Continuous Variables" (https://doi.org/10.1214%2Faoms%2F1177705052). The Annals of
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4%2Faoms%2F1177705052).
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Continuous Responses with Potentially Missing Values". Biometrics. 53 (1): 110–122.
doi:10.2307/2533101 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2533101).
16. Sharma, Shalendra D. (March 1975). "On a Continuous/Discrete Time Queueing System with
Arrivals in Batches of Variable Size and Correlated Departures". Journal of Applied Probability. 12
(1): 115–129. doi:10.2307/3212413 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F3212413).

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