Question

Which measure of central tendency best describes this situation: the numbers of apples in 2-1b bags? Explain.

A) Median; there likely are outliers.
B) Median; there likely are no outliers.
C) Mean; there likely are no outliers.
D) Mode; the data are not numerical.

Answer 1

The measure of central tendency that best describes the situation of the numbers of apples in 2-1b bags is the median, as there likely are outliers in the data set. The correct answer is option A).

Step-by-step explanation:

The measure of central tendency that best describes the situation of the numbers of apples in 2-1b bags is median, as there likely are outliers in the data set.

When a data set contains several outliers or extreme values, the median is the best measurement of central tendency. It is not affected by the precise numerical values of the outliers, making it a robust measure in such cases.

For example, if the bags contain 10, 10, 10, 10, and 100 apples, the mean would be greatly affected by the outlier of 100, but the median would still be 10, representing the typical number of apples in the bags.