Is the response to the survey question "did you smoke in the last week question mark "response to the survey question "did you smoke in the last week? ":
a discrete random variable,
a continuous random variable,
not a random variable?

The response to the question is a discrete random variable.

Explanation:

By definition of a discrete random variable we infer that the response can only take certain known values  but the response shall be completely random. As an example when we toss a fair coin the out comes are discrete as only either head or tail is possible and the outcome is random meaning we cannot predict the outcome before hand.

Similarly an continuous random variable takes any value in a set and there are infinitely many possible values it can take. For example if we choose any real number between 1 and 10. Since the answers are infinitely many in number and are completely random.

Now in our survey we can infer that the responses shall be either "yes I smoked last week" or "No i didn't smoke last week". Hence the variables are discrete and random.

not a random variable

Explanation:

Because the value is not numerical.

abraham lincoln issued the preliminary emancipation proclamation on september 22nd, 1862. it stipulated that if the southern states did not cease their rebellion by january 1st, 1863, then proclamation would go into effect.

the earthquake in haiti was a magnitude of 7.0 according to the u.s geological survey yet the smaller earthquake in haiti killed more than 200,000 and left more than 1.2 million people homeless. the chile earthquake was a magnitude of 8.8 and 500 times more stronger but chile's earthquake only injured 712 people.