SOLUTION:
GOAL: You are being asked to find the mean for the given data set.
STRATEGY: Add the values and divide the sum by 5 (there are 5 data
values).
IMPLEMENTATION:
8 þ 15 þ 19 þ 24 þ 14 ¼ 80
80 5 ¼ 16The mean is 16.EVALUATION: The mean will fall between the lowest and highest values;
most of the time, somewhere near the middle of the values.
Themedianis a value which falls in the center of the data set. You must
first arrange the data in order from the smallest data value to the largest data
value.
EXAMPLE:Find the median for 8, 15, 19, 24, and 14.
SOLUTION:
GOAL: You are being asked to find the median for the given data set.
STRATEGY: Arrange the data values in order and find the middle value.
IMPLEMENTATION:
8, 14, 15, 19, 24Since 15 is the middle value, the median is 15.
EVALUATION: Check to see if the data values are arranged correctly; then
make sure you have found the middle value.
If the number of data values is odd, as in the previous example, the median
will be one of the values; however, if the number of data values is even, the
median will fall halfway between the middle two values, as shown in the next
example.
LESSON 23 Word Problems in Statistics 277