Question

answer the questions below.
(a) the 9 participants in an experiment had the following reaction times (in milliseconds): 506, 773, 789, 804, 808, 811, 814, 825, 826.
which measure should be used to summarize the data?
mean
median
mode
(b) at a certain company, the 10 employees have the following weekly salaries: $820, $830, $860, $870, $890, $910, $930, $940, $960, $970.
which measure should be used to summarize the data?
mean
median
mode
(c) the readers of a childrens magazine are asked to name their favorite animals.
which measure indicates the animal chosen most often?
mean
median
mode

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze reaction - time data

The reaction - time data has no extreme outliers. The mean is a good measure to summarize the central tendency when the data is relatively symmetric. So for part (a), mean is appropriate.

Step2: Analyze salary data

The salary data has no extreme outliers. The mean can be used to represent the average salary. So for part (b), mean is appropriate.

Step3: Analyze favorite - animal data

We want to find the animal chosen most often. The mode is the value that appears most frequently in a data - set. So for part (c), mode is appropriate.

Answer:

(a) Mean
(b) Mean
(c) Mode