Practice Exam

Question 2 • Financial Math

Which data set would the mean be significantly affected by extreme values, making the median a more reliable measure of center?

Answer

Profits from selling handmade crafts online by five students: 40 dollars, 42 dollars, 43 dollars, 45 dollars, 40 dollars.

Money earned from babysitting by five students: 30 dollars, 32 dollars, 33 dollars, 35 dollars, 330 dollars.

Tips earned by five students working as servers: 20 dollars, 22 dollars, 23 dollars, 25 dollars, 25 dollars.

Earnings from a school car wash fundraiser by five students: 50 dollars, 55 dollars, 57 dollars, 60 dollars, 50 dollars.

Explanation

The babysitting earnings are 30, 32, 33, 35, and 330 dollars. The 330-dollar value is far above the others, so it pulls the mean upward and makes the median a more reliable measure of a typical amount. The other data sets have values clustered close together without a similarly extreme value.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.

More from this Course

Exam

Exam

Practice Test