Deck 2: Measures of Central Tendency

Question 1

Suppose that my 3 siblings and I are the following heights, in inches.
72 69 77 66
a. Calculate and report the mean of this distribution.
b. Calculate and report the median of this distribution.
c. Is there a mode for this distribution? Explain why or why not.

Answer 1

a. (72+69+77+66)/4 = 71.
b. If you arrange these scores in order, you get 66, 69, 72, and 77. The two middle scores are 69 and 72. The average of these two numbers is 70.5, so that is the median for this distribution of scores.
c. No mode, because no number in the distribution occurs any more frequently than any other number.

Question 2

Suppose I want to know how many household pets Americans have owned in their lifetimes before they turn 30 years old. I select a sample of 3 Americans, each of whom is 30 years old, and ask them how many pets they have owned in their lifetimes. The first person I ask has owned 6 animals, the second person has owned 2, and the third person has owned 11. Please answer the following questions based on these data.
a. What is the median of this distribution?
b. What is the mean of this distribution?

Answer 2

A. 6
B. (2+6+11)/3 = 6.33