Why human height is an example of continuous variation?
In order to understand the answer, you need to understand the difference between continuous and discontinuous. Continuous means that there is no break in the possible outcomes. (Human height, as in your example, could be 172.48614… cm.) This is in contrast to discontinuous variables, such as sex (you are either male or female, but can’t be 57.3% male and 42.7% female) or blood type (A, B, AB, or O). The reason that height is an example of continuous variation, then, is that a continuous range of outcomes is possible, which is the characteristic of all continuous variables. This also highlights the difference between continuous and discontinuous variables; discontinuous variables do not allow for gradation.
