Final answer:
To find the mean absolute deviation (MAD) for a set of numbers, calculate the average difference between each number and the mean. For the given set of heights, the MAD is approximately 3.83 inches.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the mean absolute deviation (MAD) for a set of numbers, we need to follow these steps:
- Find the mean of the numbers by adding them up and dividing by the total count.
- Subtract the mean from each individual number to get the deviation.
- Take the absolute value of each deviation.
- Add up all the absolute deviations.
- Divide the sum of the absolute deviations by the total count of numbers to get the mean absolute deviation.
Let's calculate the MAD for the given set of heights: 63, 70, 68, 73, 58, 67.
- Add up all the heights: 63 + 70 + 68 + 73 + 58 + 67 = 399.
- Find the mean: 399 / 6 = 66.5.
- Calculate the deviations: 63 - 66.5 = -3.5, 70 - 66.5 = 3.5, 68 - 66.5 = 1.5, 73 - 66.5 = 6.5, 58 - 66.5 = -8.5, 67 - 66.5 = 0.5.
- Take the absolute value of each deviation: |-3.5| = 3.5, |3.5| = 3.5, |1.5| = 1.5, |6.5| = 6.5, |-8.5| = 8.5, |0.5| = 0.5.
- Add up all the absolute deviations: 3.5 + 3.5 + 1.5 + 6.5 + 8.5 + 0.5 = 23.
- Divide the sum by the total count: 23 / 6 = 3.83 (rounded to two decimal places).
Therefore, the mean absolute deviation for the given set of heights is approximately 3.83 inches.