DA0-002 Data Concepts and Environments Practice Question
A sensor records temperature readings in Celsius and a separate sensor records wind speed in meters per second. A data scientist wants to combine these datasets for analysis. Which statement accurately compares these data types?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse interval and ratio data by overlooking the significance of a true zero point, leading candidates to incorrectly classify temperature as ratio data.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Temperature is interval; wind speed is ratio
Temperature measured in Celsius has an arbitrary zero point (0°C does not mean 'no heat'), so it is interval data. Wind speed in meters per second has a true zero point (0 m/s means no wind), making it ratio data. Therefore, option D correctly identifies temperature as interval and wind speed as ratio.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Both are ratio data
Why it's wrong here
Celsius is interval data: its zero is arbitrary, so ratios between readings are meaningless, unlike wind speed in metres per second, which has a true zero. Calling both ratio is tempting because both are numeric and continuous, and ratio would be correct if both scales had a genuine zero point.
- ✗
Temperature is discrete; wind speed is continuous
Why it's wrong here
Temperature in Celsius is continuous, not discrete, so the split misclassifies it while correctly calling wind speed continuous. The pairing is tempting because it acknowledges continuity for one variable, and it would hold if temperature were recorded as whole-degree counts.
- ✗
Both are discrete data
Why it's wrong here
Both variables are continuous, taking any value within a range, so neither is discrete. Labelling them discrete is tempting because the sensors report rounded numeric values, and discrete would be correct for counts such as the number of readings or sensor events.
- ✓
Temperature is interval; wind speed is ratio
Why this is correct
Temperature in Celsius has an arbitrary zero, so only differences are meaningful, making it interval. Wind speed in metres per second has a true zero and supports meaningful ratios, making it ratio. This axis of difference is precisely what the option states.
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