Question

The line plot displays the cost of used books in dollars.

A horizontal line starting at 1 with tick marks every one unit up to 9. The line is labeled Cost in Dollars, and the graph is titled Cost of Used Books. There is one dot above 2, 4, 8, and 9.There are two dots above 6 and 7. There are three dots above 3.

Which measure of center is most appropriate to represent the data in the graph, and why?

The mean is the best measure of center because there are no outliers present.
The mean is the best measure of center because there are outliers present.
The median is the best measure of center because there are no outliers present.
The median is the best measure of center because there are outliers present.

Answer 1

Since we have outliers the median would be the best choice

Answer 2

The median is the best measure of center because there are outliers present.

In this graph, there are some values that occur more frequently than others, which means that the data is not evenly distributed. Additionally, there are some values that are much larger than the others, such as the three dots above 3 and the single dot above 9. These values are considered outliers because they are much larger than the other values in the data set. Outliers can significantly affect the mean, making it an unreliable measure of center. Therefore, the median is a better measure of center for this data set because it is not affected by outliers.