Hi. I have a math question that asks “best measure of central tendency?” Can you explain what it’s asking. I do and don’t know. I know it’s related to the mean, median, and mode, but I needed someone to explain it to me in words. Thank you so much :-)

For a normal distribution, any of the three are good. For a skewed distribution, the median would be best. So what does that tell you?

Sorry I just came back to this! I do understand now. Thanks PsyDAG. :-)

Of course! The question is asking about the "best measure of central tendency" in statistics. Central tendency refers to the central or average value around which a set of data tends to cluster.

In statistics, there are three commonly used measures of central tendency: mean, median, and mode.

1. Mean: The mean is calculated by summing up all the values in a data set and then dividing it by the total number of values. It is often referred to as the arithmetic average. This measure is affected by extreme values and outliers, and it's the most commonly used measure when the distribution of the data is roughly symmetrical and not affected by outliers.

2. Median: The median is the middle value of an ordered set of data. To find the median, you need to arrange the data in ascending or descending order and then identify the middle value. If there is an even number of values, the median is the average of the two middle values. The median is less influenced by extreme values and outliers, making it a good choice when the data is skewed or has outliers.

3. Mode: The mode is the value that appears most frequently in a data set. It is the only measure that can be used for any type of data, including categorical data. Unlike the mean and median, the mode does not depend on the values of all data points.

Now, returning to the original question, when it asks for the "best measure of central tendency," it is essentially asking which of these three measures (mean, median, or mode) is most appropriate to use in a particular situation. The choice depends on the type of data, its distribution, and the presence of outliers.