Question

an advertisement for a speed - reading course claimed that the \average\ reading speed for people completing the course was 1000 wordsdata for the reading speeds per minute for a sample of 24 people who completed the course. complete parts (a) through (c) below
1000 750 800 1000 900 850
1050 1000 1050 800 1000 850
700 750 650 850 900 950
600 1100 950 1100 750 650
c. which measure of central tendency is the best indicator of the \average\ reading speed in this situation? explain your answer.
a. either the mode or midrange would be good measures of central tendency to use because there are no outliers.
b. the mode would be the best measure of central tendency to use because it is the value of the speed that most people achieved.
c. the midrange would be the best measure of central tendency to use because it is most often associated with the word
d. either the mean or the median would be good measures of central tendency to use because there are no outlier

Explanation:

The mode represents the most frequently occurring value. In the context of a reading - speed course, if we want to know the speed that most people achieved (which is what the mode gives), it is a relevant measure. The mid - range is just the average of the maximum and minimum values and does not represent the typical value well. The mean can be affected by outliers (even if there are none here, it is not as directly relevant as the mode for showing the most common value). The median is the middle value when data is ordered, but it does not tell us about the most frequently occurring value.

Answer:

B. The mode would be the best measure of central tendency to use because it is the value of the speed that most people achieved.