State which of the mean, mode or median is most suitable as a measure of central tendency for these times. Explain why the other measures are less suitable.
Solution
To determine the most suitable measure of central tendency, we consider the mean, mode, and median:
Mean: The mean is affected by extreme values. In this dataset, the value 768 is much larger than the others, skewing the mean upwards. Therefore, the mean is not suitable.
Mode: The mode is the most frequently occurring value. In this dataset, all values are different, so there is no mode. Thus, the mode is not suitable.
Median: The median is the middle value when the data is ordered. It is not affected by extreme values. Ordering the data: 180, 194, 227, 228, 229, 235, 238, 242, 246, 275, 311, 332, 768. The median is 238, which is a representative measure of central tendency for this dataset.
Therefore, the median is the most suitable measure of central tendency for these times.
