Answer to Question #287248 in Bioinformatics for Sanket

Question

Application or use of Discrete or continuous random variable in bioinformatics.

Answer 1

By looking at how many values it can take. A continuous variable can take any value (possibly within a limited range), a discrete variable can only take on a fixed number of values.

But it’s not really a crystal-clear dichotomy. Technically, all variables are discrete (if you get down to things like atomic levels, even weight is discrete) but some can take so many values that they are essentially continuous. Some variables are clearly discrete (e.g. the roll of a single six sided die). But in some cases, it’s less clear. IQ, for example, can take any integer from about 50 to 160 (depending on the test) - about 100 levels. That’s finite, so IQ is discrete, but it is better treated as continuous for almost all purposes.