Question

You have been given data about gas prices in 15 states.

2018 Gas Price Data

Max: $2.42

Min: $2.03

Mean: $2.098

Median: $2.06

Mode: $2.04

Variance: 0.0121

Standard Deviation: $0.1098

What does the mean and median of the data say about gas prices in 2018?

Answer 1

Both the mean and the median can be used to describe where the “center” of a dataset is located. It’s best to use the mean when the distribution of the data values is symmetrical and there are no clear outliers. It’s best to use the median when the distribution of data values is skewed or when there are clear outliers.