Question

The box plots below show the distribution of salaries, in thousands, among employees of two small companies.

A box plot titled Salaries in Dollars at Company 1. The number line goes from 25 to 80. The whiskers range from 25 to 80, and the box ranges from 26 to 34. A line divides the box at 30.

Salaries in Dollars at Company 1



A box plot titled Salaries in Dollars at Company 2. The number line goes from 35 to 90. The whiskers range from 36 to 90, and the box ranges from 38 to 44. A line divides the box at 40.

Salaries in Dollars at Company 2


Which measures of center and variability would be best to use when making comparisons of the two data sets?

Answer 1

B

Explanation:

Answer 2

Mean and IQR

Explanation:

The measure of centre gives the central or the measure which gives the best mid term of a distribution. Based in the details of the box plot, the median is the value which divides the box in the box plot.

For company A:

Range = 25 to 80 with a median value at 30 ; this means the median does not give a good centre measure of the distribution ad it is very close to the minimum value. This goes for the Company B plot too; with values ranging from (35 to 90) and the median designated at 40.

Hence, the mean will be the best measure of centre rather Than the median in this case.

For the variability, the interquartile range would best suit the distribution. With the lower quartile and upper quartile both having reasonable width to the minimum and maximum value of the distribution.