Which of the following is an example of qualitative data?

• A. Mass in grams.
• B. Temperature in Celsius.
• C. Color description of a tissue sample.
• D. Length in millimeters.

Answer: (C)

Qualitative data describe qualities or attributes that you observe rather than measure with numbers. They categorize something based on characteristics, such as color, texture, or type. Color description of a tissue sample fits this because it names a descriptive attribute—color—that characterizes the sample without assigning a numeric value.

In contrast, mass, temperature, and length are numerical measurements; they produce numbers that you can add, compare, or compute with, which is what makes them quantitative data. Colors can sometimes be converted into codes for analysis, but the fundamental type remains qualitative when you’re describing categories rather than measuring a quantity. This distinction guides how you analyze the data: qualitative data are analyzed by categories and frequencies, while quantitative data are analyzed with numerical summaries.