Question

can someone tell me whether this statement is a variable or parameter?

"The dropout rate at one particular high school is 38%"

How I would go by identifying a "parameter" statement also, as I have a test on this soon.

Answer 1

a variable is something that can vary. in other words, a variable isn't restricted to one value, and can possibly be many different numbers,.

a parameter is a given true statement. it does not vary, and is what it is.

"The dropout rate at one particular high school is 38%"

looking at the way this statement is structured, you'll see it's a statement-of-fact. High school dropout rate = 38%. No questions asked. That is what it is.

thus, it would be a parameter - a set, given number.

If it was stated like this:

"The dropout rate at one particular high school is dependent on how many students are in the class"

Then it becomes a variable. The drop out rate does not equal 1 set number anymore. Instead, the drop out rate depends on something else, which can change.

Answer 2

in order to identify whether it's a parameter or variable statement, just look to see if it's stating a single number (parameter) or it's stating that the number can vary (can be more than 1 number)

Answer 3

thank you for the description to it, thats sure to help a ton