Question

liam works at a zoo. he was looking at some data showing the masses of their 5 african elephants. the mean mass of the elephants was 3,800 kg, and the median mass was 3,600 kg. the smallest elephant, named lola, weighed 2,700 kg. lola then got very sick and lost weight until her mass reached 1,800 kg. how will lolas mass decreasing affect the mean and median? choose 1 answer: a both the mean and median will decrease. b the mean will stay the same, and the median will decrease. c the mean will decrease, and the median will stay the same. d the mean will decrease, and the median will increase.

Explanation:

Step1: Recall the concept of mean

The mean is the sum of all values divided by the number of values. Since Lola's mass is decreasing and the number of elephants stays the same, the sum of the masses of all elephants will decrease. So the mean will decrease.

Step2: Recall the concept of median

There are 5 elephants. The median is the middle - numbered value when the masses are arranged in ascending order. Lola is the smallest - massed elephant. Decreasing her mass does not change the fact that the middle - numbered value (the 3rd value when arranged in ascending order) among the 5 elephant masses remains the same. So the median will stay the same.

Answer:

C. The mean will decrease, and the median will stay the same.