Question

The time spent studying for an important exam, in minutes, is recorded for a sample of students. Althoughmost students in the sample spend a large amount of time studying, a small number of the students barelystudy at all. When the data was summarized, two measures of center were computed for this data set: 14.5hours and 18.3 hours. One of these measures is the mean and one is the median. Which number must bethe median?O The median must be 14.5 hours since the distribution is skewed to the left.O The median must be 18.3 hours since the distribution is skewed to the right.The median must be 18.3 hours since the distribution is skewed to the left.O The median must be 14.5 hours since the distribution is skewed to the right.

Answer 1

Concept

The mean is greater than the median. This is common for a distribution that is skewed to the right (that is, bunched up toward the left and with a "tail" stretching toward the right)

Similarly, a distribution that is skewed to the left (bunched up toward the right with a "tail" stretching toward the left) typically has a mean smaller than its median.

Final answer

The median must be 18.3 hours since the distribution is skewed to the left.