ABSTRACT
When data are obtained by counting and only whole numbers are possible, the data are called discrete. Measured data can have any value within certain limits and are called continuous (see Problem 1).
A set is a group of data and an individual value within the set is called a member of the set. Thus, if the masses of five people are measured correct to the nearest 0.1 kilogram and are found to be 53.1 kg, 59.4 kg, 62.1 kg, 77.8 kg and 64.4 kg, then the set of masses in kilograms for these five people is:
{53.1, 59.4, 62.1, 77.8, 64.4} and one of the members of the set is 59.4
A set containing all the members is called a population. Some member selected at random from a population are called a sample. Thus all car registration numbers form a population, but the registration numbers of, say, 20 cars taken at random throughout the country are a sample drawn from that population.
