Question

the number of credits being taken by a sample of 13 full - time college students are listed below. find the mean, median, and mode of the data, if possible. if any measures cannot be found or are not appropriate, explain why. 4 4 7 7 4 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 6
find the mean. select the correct choice below and, if necessary, fill in the answer box to complete your choice.
a. the mean is 4.2 (type an integer or decimal rounded to one decimal place as needed.)
b. the data set does not have a mean.
does the mean represent the center of the data?
a. the mean represents the center.
b. the mean does not represent the center because it is not a data value.
c. the mean does not represent the center because it is the largest data value.
d. the mean does not represent the center because it is the smallest data value.
e. the data set does not have a mean.

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate sum of data

$4 + 4+7 + 7+4 + 5+3 + 3+3 + 3+3 + 3+6=55$

Step2: Calculate mean

The number of data points $n = 13$. Mean $\bar{x}=\frac{55}{13}\approx4.2$

To determine if the mean represents the center of the data:
The mean is a measure of central - tendency. It is calculated by summing all the data values and dividing by the number of data values. Just because the mean is not an actual data value in the set does not mean it does not represent the center. In this case, the mean of 4.2 gives an overall average of the number of credits taken. Since there are no extreme outliers that would skew the mean significantly, the mean represents the center of the data.

Answer:

A. The mean is 4.2
A. The mean represents the center.