Pearson Algebra 1 Common Core, 2011
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Pearson Algebra 1 Common Core, 2011 View details
3. Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion
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Exercise 2 Page 742

It may be easier to calculate the mean, median, and mode if you rearrange the numbers first.

Mean = 8.76
Median = 8.8
Mode: does not exist
Best Measure: mean

Practice makes perfect
The first thing that should be done when finding the key features of a data set is rearranging the numbers from least to greatest. 8.2, 8.5, 8.8, 9, 9.3 Let's proceed to finding the mean, median, and mode.

Mean

The mean of a data set is calculated by finding the sum of all values in the set and then dividing by the number of values in the set. In this case, there are 5 values in the set.
Mean=Sum of values/Number of values
Mean=8.2 + 8.5 + 8.8 + 9 + 9.3/5
Mean=43.8/5
Mean=8.76

Median

To identify the median, we observe the middle value. 8.2, 8.5, 8.8, 9, 9.3 We can see that the middle value in this set is 8.8, so this is our median.

Mode

The mode of a data set is the value that occurs most frequently. 8.2, 8.5, 8.8, 9, 9.3 In this set, each number in this set occurs only once. Therefore, there is no mode.

Which Measure Is Best?

For the given scenario, the best measure is the mean because there are no outliers in the data. Moreover, mean and median are almost equal.