Wesley's dog, Lila, just had 6 puppies. The heaviest puppy weighed 1.3 pounds, and the lightest puppy weighed 0.8 pounds. The mean of the puppies' weights was 1.1 pounds, and the mean absolute deviation was 0.13 pounds. Which best describes a typical weight of these newborn puppies?

Answer 1

To analyze the typical weight of Wesley's puppies, we can look at the mean weight and the mean absolute deviation.

1. Mean Weight: The mean weight of the puppies is 1.1 pounds. This represents the average weight of all the puppies and provides a central point around which the weights of the individual puppies are distributed.

2. Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD): The mean absolute deviation of 0.13 pounds indicates how much the weights of the puppies vary from the mean. A lower MAD suggests that the weights are closely clustered around the mean weight.

Given that the mean weight is 1.1 pounds and the MAD is 0.13 pounds, most of the puppies' weights will likely fall within a range close to the mean. Specifically, we can assess the range as follows:

• The average weight (mean) was 1.1 pounds.
• Using the MAD, we can say that typical weights range from about 1.1 - 0.13 = 0.97 pounds to 1.1 + 0.13 = 1.23 pounds.

Considering these factors, the mean weight (1.1 pounds) best describes a typical weight of these newborn puppies, with the understanding that most puppies are likely to be in the range that is close to the mean due to the low absolute deviation.