What type of data is indicated by the number of students who turned in a paper early?

The situation described involves counting the number of students who turned in a paper early, which results in data that can take on whole number values. This type of data is classified as numerical discrete because it can only take specified, distinct values (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.) and cannot include fractions or decimals. Discrete data refer to counts, where you can list the possibilities, and in this case, you can clearly count the students without any fractions involved.

To clarify the distinction, categorical data consists of names or labels that represent categories and do not have a natural numerical order. Numerical continuous data can take any value within a range and is measured rather than counted, such as height or weight. Ordinal data has a defined order but does not have a consistent difference between values, such as rankings or survey responses on a scale. Thus, the nature of this data as a count of students directly supports its classification as numerical discrete.