Scenario 2-1: The Humane Society reports on its website that pet ownership in the US has more than tripled from the 1970s: 164 million households (or 62% of all American households) owned pets in 2012, and 24% of these pets were adopted from animal shelters. The average household spent about $300 that year on their pets. The Humane Society also gave each state a ranking indicating its relative preference for cats over dogs; for example, Pennsylvania is ranked as the 8th most cat-friendly state in the nation.

Refer to Scenario 2-1. Consider the variable money spent annually on pets. Is this variable categorical, quantitative, or a hybrid that has elements of both categorical and quantitative data?

Question

Scenario 2-1: The Humane Society reports on its website that pet ownership in the US has more than tripled from the 1970s:  164 million households (or 62% of all American households) owned pets in 2012, and 24% of these pets were adopted from animal shelters.  The average household spent about $300 that year on their pets.  The Humane Society also gave each state a ranking indicating its relative preference for cats over dogs; for example, Pennsylvania is ranked as the 8th most cat-friendly state in the nation.

Refer to Scenario 2-1. Consider the  variable money spent annually on pets. Is this variable categorical, quantitative, or a hybrid that has elements of both categorical and quantitative data?

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

This question asks us to classify the variable money spent annually on pets, based on Scenario 2-1.
First, consider what kind of data money spent represents. Money spent is a numerical amount measured in dollars, which can take on a wide range of values rather than categories or labels. This makes it a numerical, or quantitative, variable because you can perform arithmetic operations (adding totals across households, computing averages, etc.).
Next, we should distinguish from categorical data. Categorical data would assign items to named groups or categories (for example, pet type: dog vs cat, or yes/no indicators). Money spent does not group households into distinct categories; instead, it measures a continuous quantity. 
Some might wonder about a hybrid of categorical and quantitative elements. In this scenario, while the dataset as a whole might include both categorical (pet ownership, preference rankings) and quantitative (dollars spent), the specific variable money spent annually on pets remains fundamentally quantitative because its primary nature is a measurable amount. 
Therefore, the correct classification is that money spent annually on pets is quantitative data. Since no other options are provided to contrast with, there is no additional incorrect choice to evaluate here, but any option labeling it as categorical or a hybrid would be inaccurate based on the definition of money as a measurable amount in dollars.

Statistics Quiz Chapters 2-3

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