You are responsible for planning the parking needed for a new 256-unit apartment complex, and you are told to base the needs on the statistic “average number of vehicles per household is 1.9.”

Which average (mean, median, mode) would be best if:
• You wanted to be assured that every unit would have two parking spots?

average = mean

2 * 256 = 512 parking spots

To determine the best type of average for ensuring that every unit has two parking spots, we need to consider the distribution of the average number of vehicles per household and whether there is a potential for outliers.

In this case, we're given the statistic that the average number of vehicles per household is 1.9. To calculate the required parking, we want to ensure that each unit has two parking spots. This means that the average number of vehicles per household should be nearer to 2 than 1.9 to account for the possibility of multiple vehicle households.

To determine the most appropriate type of average, we should look at mean, median, and mode:

1. Mean: The mean is calculated by summing all the values and dividing by the total number of values. It can be sensitive to outliers that significantly differ from the majority of data. If there is a possibility of some households having a significantly higher number of vehicles, the mean might not accurately represent the typical number of vehicles and would not be the best choice.

2. Median: The median represents the middle value when all the values are arranged in ascending or descending order. It is less affected by outliers compared to the mean. If the distribution of the number of vehicles per household is symmetric or close to it, the median could be a reliable measure to ensure that at least 50% of households have two or fewer vehicles.

3. Mode: The mode is the value that appears most frequently in the dataset. If there is a clear peak around the value of two, meaning a substantial number of households have two vehicles, then the mode could be a good choice to ensure that a significant portion of households are properly accommodated.

In this scenario, the best average to use to ensure each unit has two parking spots would be the mode. If the mode of the average number of vehicles per household is close to 2, it would imply that a considerable number of households have two vehicles, making it more likely that each unit would require two parking spots.