Reference no: EM132854262

Directions: Explain why the mean is often not a good measure of central tendency for a skewed distribution.

You can either fill in your answers, while including original questions, though I do suggest highlighting your answers in a different font color. You can also just number your answers, without including the questions. Scanned copies are also acceptable, if you plan to print out the homework and complete it by hand.

Find the mean, median, and mode for the following sample of scores (using just a calculator; 1pt): 7, 5, 9, 7, 7, 8, 6, 8, 10, 7, 4, 6
Find the mean, median, and mode for the set of scores in the following frequency distribution table (1pt):
X frequency

10 2

9 3

8 5

7 6

6 3

5 1

4. What kind of distribution does the frequency distribution table in question 3 look like? Is this data skewed? If so, is it positively or negatively skewed?

5. A sample of n = 5 scores has a mean of M = 8. If one new person with a score of X = 2 is added to the sample, what will be the value for the new mean? Hint: first find the total for all five scores.

6. For each of the following situations, identify the measure of central tendency (mean, median, or mode) that would provide the best description of the "average" score:

a. The college recorded the age of each student who graduated last spring. Although the majority of the students were in their early 20's, a few mature students were in their 40's, 50's, and 60's.

b. A researcher asked each participant to select his or her favorite color from a set of 8 color patches.

c. A professor uses a standardized test to measure verbal skill for a sample of new college freshmen.