Question

Represent each of the following variables with an appropriate letter. Hence, determine whether the variable has fixed value or a varied value. Justify your answers.

a) The mass of each student in your class.
b) The mark obtained by Zaini in a Mathematics test.
c) The distance between Arman's house and his school.
d) The temperature at the peak of Gunung Kinabalu in a day.

Answer 1

Variables can represent different data points and these can have either fixed or varied values. For instance, a student's mass would be variable, while the mark obtained by a student in a particular test would be fixed.

Step-by-step explanation:

Variables in mathematics represent characteristics or measurements that can either have a fixed or varied value. For example, in letter representation of variables:

• a) Let M represent the mass of each student in your class. Since each student has a different mass, M would have a varied value.
• b) The mark obtained by Zaini in a Mathematics test can be denoted by Z. As this is a specific score, Z has a fixed value for a particular test.
• c) The distance between Arman's house and his school could be represented by D. Assuming the physical distance does not change, D has a fixed value.
• d) The temperature at the peak of Gunung Kinabalu on a specific day, represented by T, can vary throughout the day, so T is a variable with varied value.