Question

Example of standard deviation: The average weight of passengers on a plane is 155 pounds. Another group of marathon runners has a weight of 155 pounds. Which group would have the most dispersion from the midpoint?

Answer 1

Without explicit standard deviation values for both groups, the group with greater dispersion from the average weight cannot be determined. Typically, marathon runners might have less variability, but actual data is needed for certainty.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question posed is about the concept of standard deviation—a statistical measure that estimates the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values from their mean. When considering two groups with the same average weight, the group with the greater standard deviation will have a higher dispersion from the midpoint. In the context given, without specific standard deviation values for each group, we cannot definitively say which group has the most dispersion.

Typically, one might expect that a group of marathon runners, who usually have a similar lean body type due to rigorous training requirements, may have less variability in weights compared to a general group of airplane passengers. However, an actual computation of standard deviation for both groups would be required to answer this question definitively.