WGU C180 Exam — Practice Test Bank | Complete Questions
with Verified Correct Answers & Detailed Explanations –
2026/2027 Update | Graded A+
Question 1
A healthcare researcher records the ages of 100 patients who participated in a
study. Which type of variable is age?
A. Quantitative variable
B. Qualitative variable
C. Nominal variable only
D. Categorical label
Correct Answer: A. Quantitative variable
Explanation:
Age is expressed numerically and represents a measurable quantity.
Quantitative variables can be used in mathematical and statistical calculations.
Qualitative or categorical variables instead describe groups or characteristics
such as blood type, gender category, or treatment type.
Question 2
A researcher records whether each patient is a smoker or nonsmoker. What
type of variable is this?
A. Quantitative continuous variable
B. Categorical variable
C. Ratio variable
D. Quantitative discrete variable
Correct Answer: B. Categorical variable
Explanation:
Smoker versus nonsmoker represents categories rather than numerical
measurements. Although the categories may sometimes be coded with
1
,numbers, those numbers are labels and should not be treated as quantitative
measurements.
Question 3
A hospital records the number of emergency-room visits made by each patient
during one year. Which type of quantitative variable is the number of visits?
A. Continuous
B. Discrete
C. Nominal
D. Qualitative
Correct Answer: B. Discrete
Explanation:
A discrete variable generally represents countable values. A patient can have
0, 1, 2, 3, or another whole number of visits. A value such as 3.47 emergency-
room visits would not normally be meaningful.
Question 4
A patient's body temperature is recorded as 98.6°F. What type of variable is
body temperature?
A. Continuous quantitative variable
B. Nominal categorical variable
C. Discrete categorical variable
D. Qualitative variable
Correct Answer: A. Continuous quantitative variable
Explanation:
Temperature is measurable and can theoretically take many values within a
range. For example, a temperature could be 98.6°F, 98.62°F, or 98.625°F
depending on the precision of the measuring instrument.
2
,Question 5
A researcher wants to determine the average systolic blood pressure of 500
patients. Which statistic should be calculated?
A. Mean
B. Mode only
C. Range only
D. Frequency
Correct Answer: A. Mean
Explanation:
The arithmetic mean is calculated by adding all observations and dividing by
the number of observations. It provides a measure of central tendency and is
commonly used to describe the average value of a quantitative variable.
Question 6
The following five test scores are recorded:
70, 75, 80, 85, 90
What is the mean?
A. 75
B. 80
C. 82
D. 85
Correct Answer: B. 80
Explanation:
Add the values:
70 + 75 + 80 + 85 + 90 = 400
Then divide by five:
3
, 400 ÷ 5 = 80
Therefore, the mean score is 80.
Question 7
A dataset contains the values:
4, 6, 7, 8, 10
What is the median?
A. 6
B. 7
C. 8
D. 10
Correct Answer: B. 7
Explanation:
The values are already arranged from smallest to largest. Because there are
five observations, the middle observation is the third value. Therefore, the
median is 7.
Question 8
A dataset contains the following values:
2, 4, 4, 5, 7, 9
What is the mode?
A. 2
B. 4
C. 5
D. 9
Correct Answer: B. 4
4
with Verified Correct Answers & Detailed Explanations –
2026/2027 Update | Graded A+
Question 1
A healthcare researcher records the ages of 100 patients who participated in a
study. Which type of variable is age?
A. Quantitative variable
B. Qualitative variable
C. Nominal variable only
D. Categorical label
Correct Answer: A. Quantitative variable
Explanation:
Age is expressed numerically and represents a measurable quantity.
Quantitative variables can be used in mathematical and statistical calculations.
Qualitative or categorical variables instead describe groups or characteristics
such as blood type, gender category, or treatment type.
Question 2
A researcher records whether each patient is a smoker or nonsmoker. What
type of variable is this?
A. Quantitative continuous variable
B. Categorical variable
C. Ratio variable
D. Quantitative discrete variable
Correct Answer: B. Categorical variable
Explanation:
Smoker versus nonsmoker represents categories rather than numerical
measurements. Although the categories may sometimes be coded with
1
,numbers, those numbers are labels and should not be treated as quantitative
measurements.
Question 3
A hospital records the number of emergency-room visits made by each patient
during one year. Which type of quantitative variable is the number of visits?
A. Continuous
B. Discrete
C. Nominal
D. Qualitative
Correct Answer: B. Discrete
Explanation:
A discrete variable generally represents countable values. A patient can have
0, 1, 2, 3, or another whole number of visits. A value such as 3.47 emergency-
room visits would not normally be meaningful.
Question 4
A patient's body temperature is recorded as 98.6°F. What type of variable is
body temperature?
A. Continuous quantitative variable
B. Nominal categorical variable
C. Discrete categorical variable
D. Qualitative variable
Correct Answer: A. Continuous quantitative variable
Explanation:
Temperature is measurable and can theoretically take many values within a
range. For example, a temperature could be 98.6°F, 98.62°F, or 98.625°F
depending on the precision of the measuring instrument.
2
,Question 5
A researcher wants to determine the average systolic blood pressure of 500
patients. Which statistic should be calculated?
A. Mean
B. Mode only
C. Range only
D. Frequency
Correct Answer: A. Mean
Explanation:
The arithmetic mean is calculated by adding all observations and dividing by
the number of observations. It provides a measure of central tendency and is
commonly used to describe the average value of a quantitative variable.
Question 6
The following five test scores are recorded:
70, 75, 80, 85, 90
What is the mean?
A. 75
B. 80
C. 82
D. 85
Correct Answer: B. 80
Explanation:
Add the values:
70 + 75 + 80 + 85 + 90 = 400
Then divide by five:
3
, 400 ÷ 5 = 80
Therefore, the mean score is 80.
Question 7
A dataset contains the values:
4, 6, 7, 8, 10
What is the median?
A. 6
B. 7
C. 8
D. 10
Correct Answer: B. 7
Explanation:
The values are already arranged from smallest to largest. Because there are
five observations, the middle observation is the third value. Therefore, the
median is 7.
Question 8
A dataset contains the following values:
2, 4, 4, 5, 7, 9
What is the mode?
A. 2
B. 4
C. 5
D. 9
Correct Answer: B. 4
4
