Question

1. Would the mean or median be the best representation for the following data set?

7, 5, 3, 8, 4, 9, 18, 6, 5, 7, 8
a. mean
b. median

Answer 1

b. median

Explanation:

It’s best to use the mean when the distribution of the data values are symmetrical and there are no clear outliers.
On the other hand, it’s best to use the median when the the distribution of data values is skewed or when there are clear outliers.

You can make your own graph, or use a statistics calculator to find out whether the graph is skewed or symmetrical. The graph for this scenario is shown below.

hope this helps!