Final answer:
Central tendency measures including mean, median, and mode provide insights into a data set's characteristics. Median is less affected by outliers than mean, which can be skewed. The mode indicates the most common value within the data.
Step-by-step explanation:
Measures of central tendency like the mean, median, and mode play a critical role in statistical analysis, as they summarize key aspects of a data set. The mean is the arithmetic average of all data points and can be skewed by outliers, meaning it is sensitive to extreme values.
The median is the middle value when data points are arranged in order of magnitude and provides a better measure of center when outliers are present. The mode is the most frequently occurring data point and can reveal the most common value in a data set.
In the case of a bimodal or multimodal data set, there can be more than one mode. When it comes to skewed data, as shown in the example data set where the mean is 7.7, the median is 7.5, and the mode is seven, understanding the relationship between these three measures of central tendency can help decide which is the most appropriate to use in a given context.