A random sample of dates taken from headstones at a cemetery in Pleasanton, California, showed an average lifespan of 70 years with a standard deviation of 20 years. Assuming the distribution is unimodal, which of the following is most likely a
good description of the distribution?
A. The distribution is most likely skewed to the left.
B. The distribution is most likely skewed to the right.
C. The distribution is most likely relatively symmetric.
D. We cannot tell the shape of the distribution from these
statistics.
To determine the most likely description of the distribution, we need to analyze the information given about the average lifespan and standard deviation.
The average lifespan of 70 years suggests that the distribution is centered around this value.
The standard deviation of 20 years indicates the variability or spread of the data.
In this case, since the standard deviation is the same as the average, we can infer that the distribution is relatively symmetric.
Therefore, the most likely description of the distribution is option C: The distribution is most likely relatively symmetric.