Question

The list shows the weight in pounds of 6 puppies at birth.

3, 1.6, 2.8, 2.5, 1.7, 2.8

What is the mean absolute deviation of these numbers?

Question 1 options:

0.5


2.4


1.9


14.4

Answer 1

The mean absolute deviation is calculated by finding the average of the absolute differences between each value and the mean of the data set.

First, find the mean of the data set:
(3 + 1.6 + 2.8 + 2.5 + 1.7 + 2.8) / 6 = 2.41

Next, find the absolute differences for each value:
|3 - 2.41| = 0.59
|1.6 - 2.41| = 0.81
|2.8 - 2.41| = 0.39
|2.5 - 2.41| = 0.09
|1.7 - 2.41| = 0.71
|2.8 - 2.41| = 0.39

Find the average of these absolute differences:
(0.59 + 0.81 + 0.39 + 0.09 + 0.71 + 0.39) / 6 = 0.5167

Therefore, the mean absolute deviation of these numbers is approximately 0.52, so 0.5 is the correct answer.