Maria surveyed girls on the amount (in $) they spent on a dress for the middle school spring fling:
79, 79, 79, 82, 84, 85, 89, 90, 99, 100, 100, 100, 129, 139, 155, 174, 189, 200, 209, 250
Which measure of variability—IQR or MAD—best describes the spread of the dataset?
1 answer
The IQR (Interquartile Range) would be the best measure of variability to describe the spread of the dataset. The MAD (Mean Absolute Deviation) may be affected by outliers in the dataset, and the IQR is more robust to outliers. Additionally, the IQR provides information about the middle 50% of the data, which is relevant for understanding the central tendency and variability of the dataset.