Question

For what purpose is the median​ used?

A. To give the spread of a distribution

B. To measure the variation of a data set

C. To give a typical value of a data set

D. None of these

Answer 1

The median is used to give a typical value of a data set. It is especially useful for data sets with outliers or extreme values, as it is not influenced by them, unlike the mean. The correct option is C.

Step-by-step explanation:

The median is used C. To give a typical value of a data set. It represents the middle value in an ordered data set and effectively splits the data into two halves, with an equal number of data points above and below it.

The median is especially useful when dealing with data sets that contain outliers or extreme values. Unlike the mean, the median is not affected by these extreme values and thus provides a more accurate representation of 'typical' data within a skewed distribution.

While the mean provides the arithmetic average and the mode indicates the most frequently occurring value, the median is best utilized to ascertain the central tendency without influence from non-representative data points.