Question

For every 100,000 baby boys born in the US in 2018, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) used current mortality rates to predict the number that would die at each age. According to the ONS, the data is skewed to the left - with most males born in 2018 predicted to die in their eighties and comparatively few predicted to die as babies. The two measures of center for the life expectancy of US males born in the 2018 are 79 years and 82 years.

Which number best represents the median life expectancy for US males born in 2018 and which number best represents the mean?

Answer 1

Explanation:

The median represents the measure of center that divides a dataset into two equal halves. In this case, if the data is skewed to the left, with most males predicted to die in their eighties, the median life expectancy would be less than the mean.

Given that the two measures of center for the life expectancy of US males born in 2018 are 79 years and 82 years, the number 79 years best represents the median life expectancy. It indicates that half of the males born in 2018 are predicted to die before reaching 79 years of age, and the other half is predicted to live beyond that age.

On the other hand, the number 82 years best represents the mean life expectancy. The mean is calculated by summing up all the individual life expectancies and dividing it by the total number of individuals. As the data is skewed to the left, with relatively few predicted to die as babies, the mean life expectancy is higher than the median.