Question

In a sample of 60 households, one house is worth $2,500,000. Twenty-nine houses are worth $280,000, and all the others are worth $315,000. Which is the better measure of the center"the mean or the median?

Answer 1

Explanation:

In this case, the median would be a better measure of the center than the mean. The median is the value in the middle of a set of data when the values are arranged in order from least to greatest. In this case, there are 60 households, so the 31st household would be the median. Since 29 houses are worth $280,000 and one house is worth $2,500,000, the 31st house must be worth $315,000.

The mean, on the other hand, is calculated by adding up all the values and dividing by the number of values. The mean in this case would be significantly influenced by the one high-value household worth $2,500,000, leading to an estimate of the center that is much higher than the other values. In this situation, the median provides a better representation of the "typical" value among the majority of the households.