Question

each of the 8 cats in a pet store was weighed. here are their weights (in pounds). 5, 9, 9, 8, 5, 15, 9, 15. find the mean and median weights of these cats. if necessary, round your answers to the nearest tenth. (a) mean: pounds (b) median: pounds

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate the sum of weights

$5 + 9+9 + 8+5 + 15+9+15=75$

Step2: Calculate the mean

The mean $\bar{x}=\frac{\text{Sum of values}}{\text{Number of values}}$. There are 8 values. So, $\bar{x}=\frac{75}{8}=9.375\approx9.4$

Step3: Arrange the data in ascending - order

$5,5,8,9,9,9,15,15$

Step4: Calculate the median

Since there are 8 (an even - numbered) data points, the median is the average of the two middle values. The two middle values are the 4th and 5th values. So, median$=\frac{9 + 9}{2}=9$

Answer:

(a) Mean: 9.4 pounds
(b) Median: 9 pounds