Question

c. which measure of central tendency is the best indicator of the \average\ reading speed in this situation? explain your answer
○ a. either the mean or the median would be good measures of central tendency to use because there are no outliers
○ b. the midrange would be the best measure of central tendency to use because it is most often associated with the word \average\
○ c. either the mode or midrange would be good measures of central tendency to use because there are no outliers
○ d. the mode would be the best measure of central tendency to use because it is the value of the speed that most people achieved.

Explanation:

• The mean is the sum of all values divided by the number of values. The median is the middle - value when data is ordered. When there are no outliers (extreme values that can skew the mean), both the mean and median give a good representation of the "average" in a data set.
• The midrange is calculated as \((\text{min}+\text{max})/2\) and is highly influenced by extreme values (even if there are none here, it's not a commonly used measure for the general "average" as mean and median).
• The mode is the most frequently occurring value. It may not represent the overall "average" well (e.g., if most people have a reading speed of 100 words per minute, but a few have 120 and 80, the mode of 100 doesn't account for the spread as well as mean or median when there are no outliers).

Answer:

A. Either the mean or the median would be good measures of central tendency to use because there are no outliers.