Variable
Topic: Geographical Data: Sources, Compilation and Processing · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Spatial Information Technology"
Meaning
A variable is any feature that changes from place to place or from time to time. There are two kinds.
- A quantitative variable has differences you can measure in numbers, like rainfall.
- A qualitative variable, also called an attribute, has only categories that cannot be measured, like sex (male or female).
Geographers study how variables change across space and how they affect each other.
Example
Rainfall is a quantitative variable. It changes from the very dry Thar Desert in western Rajasthan to the very wet west coast. The main crop grown in a district, such as rice or wheat, is a qualitative variable because it is a category, not a number.
Don't confuse with
- Constant: a constant stays the same. A variable changes over place or time.