The mean cost of a meal for two in a mid-range restaurant in Tokyo is $40. How do prices for comparable meals in Hong Kong compare?

The DATAfileHongKongMealscontains the costs for a sample of 42 recent meals for two in Hong Kong mid-range restaurants.

a) What is the random variable in this narrative?

Meal Price ($) 22.78 33.89 22.77 18.04 23.29 35.28 42.38 36.88 38.55 41.68 25.73 34.19 31.75 25.24 26.32 19.57 36.57 32.97 36.83 30.17 37.29 25.37 24.71 28.79 32.83 43.00 35.23 34.76 33.06 27.73 31.89 38.47 39.42 40.72 43.92 36.51 45.25 33.51 29.17 30.54 26.74 37.93