c What kind of information is given by the measures of central tendency?
A
aMean: 1047.85
Median: 1049.5
Mode: 695
B
b Mode, see solutoin.
C
c See solution.
Practice makes perfect
a We are asked to find the mean, median, and mode of the flat-screen TVs. Let's begin by listing the prices in numerical order.
695, 695, 895, 999, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1499
The mean of a data set is the sum of the values divided by the total number of values in the set. Let's start by calculating the sum of the given prices.
&695 + 695 + 895 + 999 + 1100
&+ 1200 + 1300 + 1499 = 8383
There are 8 values in the set, so we have to divide the sum by 8.
Mean: 8383/8=1047.875
Next, we will find the median. When the data is arranged in numerical order, the median is the middle value — or the mean of the two middle values — of the set. There are 8 values in the set, so we will find the mean of the two middle values.
695, 695, 895, 999, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1499 ⇓ Median: 999+ 1100/2=1049.5
Finally, we will find the mode. The mode is the value or values that appear most often in a set of data.
695, 695, 895, 999, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1499
We found that 695 appears twice in the list and no other value is repeated. Therefore, the mode is 695. We will now summarize our findings.
Mean:& 1047.85 Median:& 1049.5 Mode:& 695
b Let's take a look at the ad put in the newspaper.
Our flat-screen TVs average $695.
We found in Part A that 695 is the mode of the prices from the electronics store. Since this is also the lowest value, it makes sense that the store is trying to advertise using this value.
c As customers, we would like to see advertised a measure of central tendency like the mean or the median. This would give us an overall idea of how much money we would need to buy a TV while keeping some flexibility.
