"For our study of driving habits, we recorded the speed of every fifth vehicle on Drury Lane. Nearly every car traveled right at the speed limit or a little over, but there were some that were 10 mph under, even fewer at 20 mph under, and one car that crept by at just 15 mph. On the basis of the central tendency calculation on our data, we drew conclusions about all drivers on this stretch of road." The proper central tendency value calculated from the data is the
A) population median
B) sample median
C) population mean ($\mu$ )
D) sample mean ( $\overline { \mathrm { X } }$ ).

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Given the data was collected from every fifth vehicle, it represents a sample of the total vehicles on Drury Lane, not the entire population. Therefore, the median of this sample is the most appropriate measure of central tendency, as it is less affected by the extreme values (such as the one car at 15 mph) than the mean would be.

"For Our Study of Driving Habits, We Recorded the Speed μ\muμ

"For Our Study of Driving Habits, We Recorded the Speed $\mu$