Which of the following scales of measurement contains an absolute zero?

Question

Question

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UGC NET Paper 1: Held on 24th Feb 2023 Shift 2

Answer 1

The only scale of measurement that contains an absolute zero is the ratio scale.

Key PointsRatio Scale:

In a ratio scale, the zero point represents the absence of the attribute being measured.
This means that ratios between values on this scale are meaningful and can be used for mathematical calculations.
Examples of ratio scales include measures of weight, height, distance, and time.

Additional Information

In contrast, the other three types of scales of measurement (nominal, ordinal, and interval) do not have an absolute zero.
For example, in an interval scale, such as the Fahrenheit temperature scale, zero does not indicate the complete absence of temperature but rather is an arbitrary point on the scale.
Similarly, in an ordinal scale, such as a rank order of preference, there is no true zero point or equal intervals between the values.
In a nominal scale, such as gender or race categories, the values are categorical and cannot be quantified in terms of numerical values or distances.