Week 2 DQ4
Select four variables, other than what your fellow students have already selected, that
could be measured by nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scale. Classify them by
measurement scale and select a descriptive statistic that can be used to summarize data.
Use following table when posting your response:
The four variables I have chosen deal with the presence of iron within ferrous or non-ferrous
metals, hardness on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, distances on a yardstick, and the
movement of earth on the Richter scale. Metal being considered ether ferrous or non-ferrous
Metals classified as a ferrous or non-ferrous metal shows a nominal level of measurement. The
trait that creates the difference stems from the iron present in a metal. Ferrous metal have a
presences of iron within the metal while non-ferrous metals do not. This just separates metals
into two groups even though the metals themselves in each group may have extremely different
properties from each other.
The Mohs scale of mineral hardness shows the hardness of mineral on a ordinal level of
measurement. This scale categorizes a minerals resistance to being scratched by other minerals.
So the higher on the Mohs scale a mineral is the harder and more scratch resistant to minerals
lower on the scale it is. Although the Mohs does not show how hard a mineral is or the difference
of hardness between minerals.
The distances on a yardstick is a perfect at showing an interval measurement variable. An inch
increase on one point of the rules is exactly the same at another point on the ruler.
For the ratio level of measurement I’ll use the variable of the seismic movement of the earth on
the Richter scale. First of all the zero on the Richter scale shows the absence of seismic activity
and the ability to see a meaningful difference between two different points on the Richter scale.
Variable
Level of Measurement
Descriptive Stat and Justify
Selection
Presences of iron in
metal
Nominal
Ferrous / Non-Ferrous
Hardness of a
mineral
Ordinal
Mohs scale of mineral
hardness
Distance
Interval
yardstick
Seismic activity
Ratio
Richter scale
References
Andrew, A. (2012).The Mohs Mineral Hardness Scale. Retrieved from
http://geology.about.com/od/scales/a/mohsscale.htm
USGD. (2009). The Richter Magnitude Scale. Retrieved from
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/richter.php