The following data points represent the number of alligators in each body of water near Tom's house.

8,5,12,15

Find the mean absolute deviation (MAD) of the data set.

1 answer

To find the MAD of the data set, we first need to find the mean (average) of the data set:

Mean = (8 + 5 + 12 + 15) / 4 = 10

Next, we find the absolute deviation for each data point by subtracting the mean from each data point and taking the absolute value:

|8 - 10| = 2
|5 - 10| = 5
|12 - 10| = 2
|15 - 10| = 5

Then, we find the average of these absolute deviations, which is the MAD:

MAD = (2 + 5 + 2 + 5) / 4 = 3.5

Therefore, the mean absolute deviation of the data set is 3.5.