The median rainfall during a spring storm in the lowlands is about 4 mm less than a spring storm in the highlands. The mean rainfall for the lowlands is about 3 mm less than for the highlands. Why is there a difference in the central measures for each data set?

Answer:

The mean and median for the two locations differ because the distributions of rainfall amounts have different shapes and spreads. In particular, the mean is more sensitive to extreme values or outliers than the median. If one data set has more variation or specific outliers (like high rainfall totals in the highlands), it will shift the mean more significantly than the median, causing the difference in the measures of central tendency.