interval scale

noun

1. statistics a scale of measurement of data according to which the differences between values can be quantified in absolute but not relative terms and for which any zero is merely arbitrary: for instance, dates are measured on an interval scale since differences can be measured in years, but no sense can be given to a ratio of times Compare ordinal scale ratio scale nominal scale

Example Sentences

Last year a public-school district in northern California decided to score on an “equal interval scale”—meaning every letter grade is assigned a 20-point range.

From Wall Street Journal

Problem.—By use of the slope scale on the sketch board and the contour interval scale on the alidade, each man will secure vertical data on the flat sketch made in the fourth lesson.

From Project Gutenberg