A nominal scale is a type of measurement that categorizes data without any order or ranking. It simply labels different groups or categories, allowing for the identification of distinct characteristics. For example, gender, eye color, or types of fruit can be classified using a nominal scale, where each category is unique but not inherently superior or inferior to another. In nominal scales, the data can be counted but not measured. This means that you can determine how many items belong to each category, but you cannot perform mathematical operations like addition or subtraction. The primary purpose of a nominal scale is to organize data into groups for easier analysis.