The sample data below shows the number of hours spent by five students over the weekend to prepare for Monday's Business Statistics exam. (See the Excel Data File.) The mean and the median of the numbers of hours spent by the five students are ________.
A) 2 hours and 3 hours, respectively
B) 3 hours and 5 hours, respectively
C) 5 hours and 2 hours, respectively
D) 5 hours and 3 hours, respectively

Question

The sample data below shows the number of hours spent by five students over the weekend to prepare for Monday's Business Statistics exam.  (See the Excel Data File.) The mean and the median of the numbers of hours spent by the five students are ________.
A) 2 hours and 3 hours, respectively 
B) 3 hours and 5 hours, respectively 
C) 5 hours and 2 hours, respectively 
D) 5 hours and 3 hours, respectively

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the mean, we add up all the hours and divide by the number of students:

(1 + 5 + 4 + 6 + 5) / 5 = 21 / 5 = 4.2 hours

To find the median, we need to first put the numbers in order:

1, 4, 5, 5, 6

The median is the middle number. Since there are an odd number of numbers, the middle number is the third number, which is 5.

Therefore, the mean is 4.2 hours and the median is 5 hours. The best choice is D.

The Sample Data Below Shows the Number of Hours Spent