Which level of measurement has equal intervals but no true zero, such as temperature in Celsius?

Which level of measurement has equal intervals but no true zero, such as temperature in Celsius?

• A. Nominal
• B. Ordinal
• C. Interval
• D. Ratio

Answer: (C)

Equal intervals without a true zero describe the interval level of measurement. Here, the size of the difference between values is meaningful and consistent across the scale, so you can compare amounts by subtracting. Celsius temperature is a clear example: the gap from 10°C to 11°C is the same as from 70°C to 71°C. But zero on this scale isn’t an absolute absence of temperature; 0°C is just another point on the scale, so you can’t say one temperature is twice another. This means you can add and subtract values meaningfully, but you can’t meaningfully multiply or form ratios. By contrast, nominal data are just categories with no intrinsic order, ordinal data have order but unequal intervals, and ratio data have a true zero and can support meaningful ratios.

Equal intervals without a true zero describe the interval level of measurement. Here, the size of the difference between values is meaningful and consistent across the scale, so you can compare amounts by subtracting. Celsius temperature is a clear example: the gap from 10°C to 11°C is the same as from 70°C to 71°C. But zero on this scale isn’t an absolute absence of temperature; 0°C is just another point on the scale, so you can’t say one temperature is twice another. This means you can add and subtract values meaningfully, but you can’t meaningfully multiply or form ratios. By contrast, nominal data are just categories with no intrinsic order, ordinal data have order but unequal intervals, and ratio data have a true zero and can support meaningful ratios.