Question

Which of the following is a reason people sometimes use mean or median to misrepresent the “average” of a set of data?

a.

In many data sets, the mean and median are always similar.

b.

In most data sets, the mean and median are always different.

c.

The median is meaningless but is often confused with the mean.

d.

In data sets with outliers, either the mean or median can be used to make the data set appear more favorable to their agenda.

Answer 1

Answer: In data sets with outliers, either the mean or median can be used to make the data set appear more favorable to their agenda.

Explanation:

We know that the "mean" is the "average" we used where we need to add up all the numbers and then divide by the number of elements where as the "median" is the "middle" value in the list of numbers.

The mean and median would not affected by outlying data points within data sets. Thus, the median is often used when a data set has outlying data points that could influence the mean and thereby misrepresent the middle of the data set.

The correct reason people sometimes use mean or median to misrepresent the “average” of a set of data is " In data sets with outliers, either the mean or median can be used to make the data set appear more favorable to their agenda. '