Question

Here are the prices for biweekly lawn mowing services for 13 local companies:

15, 15, 20, 30, 30, 35, 40, 40, 40, 40, 50, 50, 50

Which measure of center—mean or median—best represents the shape of the distribution?

(1 point)
Responses

Median; the shape of the distribution is skewed to the left.
Median; the shape of the distribution is skewed to the left.

Mean; the shape of the distribution is close to symmetrical.
Mean; the shape of the distribution is close to symmetrical.

Median; the shape of the distribution is skewed to the right.
Median; the shape of the distribution is skewed to the right.

Mean; the shape of the distribution is skewed to the left.
Mean; the shape of the distribution is skewed to the left.

Answer 1

Median; the shape of the distribution is skewed to the left.

Reason: mean = 455/13 = 35 while median = 40. The few low values (15, 15, 20) pull the mean down, so the distribution has a left (negative) skew and the median is the better measure of center.