Final answer:
The mean age of the freshmen class, which is 14.17 years, is slightly greater than the median age, which is 14 years.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking whether the mean age of a freshmen class is greater than or less than the median age, given the distribution of ages. To answer this, we consider that half of the students are 14 years old, one-third are 15, and the rest are 13. The median is the value at the midpoint of the data when it is ordered numerically. In this case, since half of the students are 14, the median age will be 14 years old.
To find the mean, we need all the students' ages. Let's assume there are 60 students: 30 are 14 years old, 20 are 15 years old, and the remaining 10 are 13 years old. Calculating the mean would involve the following calculation:
- (30*14) + (20*15) + (10*13) = 420 + 300 + 130 = 850
- Mean age = 850 total years / 60 students = 14.17 years
Since the mean age is 14.17 years and the median age is 14 years, the mean is slightly greater than the median. Therefore, the answer is a. Greater than.