{"id":490,"date":"2022-07-11T19:07:46","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T19:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/alphamodule\/?post_type=chapter&p=490"},"modified":"2022-08-04T22:42:55","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T22:42:55","slug":"interpreting-the-mean-and-median-of-a-dataset-apply-it-3","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/alphamodule\/chapter\/interpreting-the-mean-and-median-of-a-dataset-apply-it-3\/","title":{"raw":"Interpreting the Mean and Median of a Dataset: Apply It 3","rendered":"Interpreting the Mean and Median of a Dataset: Apply It 3"},"content":{"raw":"

Appropriate Measures of Center<\/h2>\r\nIn the previous example, we saw how the mean was not an accurate representation of the typical salary for a Texas NBA player due to the existence of outliers. Now, let's take a look at other situations to determine whether it would be more appropriate to use the mean or median to describe a typical observation.\r\n\r\nConsider the distribution of three different sets of data:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Income in New York City<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. GPA at a local college<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Body temperature<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nSituation 1: Data are collected on the income of residents in New York City.<\/strong><\/span>\r\n
    \r\n

    Try It 8<\/h3>\r\n[ohm_question hide_question_numbers=1]257427[\/ohm_question]\r\n\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"157117\"]Hint[\/reveal-answer][hidden-answer a=\"157117\"]To help visualize what the data set might look like, imagine the possible range of salaries in a large, densely populated city. How many incomes will be at the lower end of the range? How many incomes will be at the higher end of the range?<\/span>\u00a0[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nSituation 2: Data are collected on the GPAs of students enrolled at a local college.<\/strong>\r\n<\/span>\r\n
    \r\n

    try it 9<\/h3>\r\n[ohm_question hide_question_numbers=1]257428[\/ohm_question]\r\n\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"668026\"]Hint[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"668026\"]Consider the range of possible GPAs and their frequencies. Do students typically perform average to above average? Do most pass their classes? Where would likely outliers appear in the distribution?<\/span>[\/hidden-answer]<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nSituation 3: Data are collected on peoples\u2019 body temperatures.<\/strong>\r\n<\/span>\r\n
    \r\n

    Try it 10<\/h3>\r\n[ohm_question hide_question_numbers=1]257429[\/ohm_question]\r\n\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"731082\"]Hint[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"731082\"]Would you expect to see extreme values in a distribution of people's body temperatures?<\/span>[\/hidden-answer]<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nThese examples illustrate some general guidelines for choosing numerical summaries:\r\n