Discrete vs Continuous

Discrete vs Continuous

Discrete variables are usually obtained by counting. There are a finite or countable number of choices available with discrete data. You can't have 2.63 people in the room.
Continuous variables are usually obtained by measuring. Length, weight, and time are all examples of continuous variables. Since continuous variables are real numbers, we usually round them. This implies a boundary depending on the number of decimal places.

 For example: 64 is really anything 63.5 <= x < 64.5. Likewise, if there are two decimal places, then 64.03 is really anything 63.025 <= x < 63.035. Boundaries always have one more decimal place than the data and end in a 5.