Term 2 · Week 2 · Data and Descriptive Statistics

Standard problem

Standard

Galunggong prices in six markets: ₱180, ₱185, ₱190, ₱180, ₱175, ₱320. Which measure best describes the typical price, and why?

Show step-by-step solution

Answer: b. Median, because one unusually high price pulls the mean up

Five prices cluster near ₱180–190; ₱320 is an outlier.
Mean $\approx 205$ is above every price except the outlier; median $= 182.5$ represents the typical stall.

Common errors to watch for

(a) The mean is sensitive to outliers; 'uses every value' is why it misleads here.

gm11.t2.w2.c3
Identify the appropriate measure of central tendency and measures of variability of a given data set for different purposes.