Does the mean or median better describe the shape of this data set? 46 54 43 57 50 62 78 42
In this data set, the mean is 52.125 and the median is 50.5. Since the data set is relatively small and does not contain any extreme outliers, the median better describes the shape of the data set. The median gives a better representation of the central tendency of the data because it is not affected by outlier values like the mean is.
That’s not the median
Apologies for the mistake. Let's correct that.
The data set in ascending order: 42, 43, 46, 50, 54, 57, 62, 78
The median is the middle number when the data set is arranged in ascending order. Since there are 8 numbers in the data set, the median is the average of the two middle numbers:
(50 + 54) / 2 = 52
Therefore, the median of the data set is 52.
Given the data set and the calculation, the median of 52 does better describe the shape of the data set as the mean can be affected by outliers.