To identify which one does not belong with the other three terms, we can analyze their meanings and roles in statistics:
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Range: This is the difference between the highest and lowest values in a dataset. It provides a measure of the spread of the data.
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Interquartile Range (IQR): This measures the spread of the middle 50% of a dataset. It is calculated as the difference between the first quartile (Q1) and the third quartile (Q3). Like the range, it is a measure of variability.
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Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD): This statistic measures the average of the absolute deviations from the mean of a dataset. It is another measure of spread, focusing on how much individual data points deviate from the mean.
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Mean: The mean is the arithmetic average of a dataset, computed by summing all values and dividing by the number of values.
The commonality among the range, interquartile range, and mean absolute deviation is that they are all measures of variability or spread within a dataset. In contrast, the mean is a measure of central tendency.
Therefore, the mean does not belong with the other three terms because it serves a different purpose—it provides the central value of a dataset rather than indicating how much the values in that dataset vary.