Welcome to this deck on data. In mathematics, data is just a word for information. We'll explore the different types of information you can collect and the methods used to gather it. By the end, you'll understand the key terms used to describe and collect data.

The first main way to classify data is by whether it uses words or numbers. Data that uses words or descriptions is called qualitative data. Think of the word 'quality'. Examples include eye colour, favourite foods, or the names of different countries.

The other main type of data is based on numbers. This is called quantitative data. Think of the word 'quantity'. This is data that can be counted or measured, like the number of students in a class, or the height of a tree.

Now let's look closer at quantitative, or number-based, data. It can be split into two further types: discrete and continuous. Discrete data is data that can only take certain, specific values. It is usually something you count. For example, the number of pets you own can be zero, one, two, and so on, but it can't be 1.5.