You weigh six packages and find the weights to be 35, 25, 75, 30, 70, and 65 ounces. If you include a package that weighs 155 ounces, which will increase more, the median or the mean?

A. The median and the mean will stay the same.
B. The median and the mean are affected the same amount.
C. The median increases more.
D. The mean increases more.

1 answer

To determine how the mean and median are affected by the inclusion of the package that weighs 155 ounces, we will first calculate the mean and median of the original six packages, and then evaluate how they change when the 155-ounce package is included.

Original Weights:

  • 35, 25, 75, 30, 70, 65 ounces

Step 1: Calculate the Mean of the Original Packages.

Mean = (Sum of weights) / (Number of packages)

Sum = 35 + 25 + 75 + 30 + 70 + 65 = 300 ounces

Mean = 300 / 6 = 50 ounces

Step 2: Calculate the Median of the Original Packages.

To find the median, we first sort the weights:

  • Sorted weights: 25, 30, 35, 65, 70, 75

Since there are 6 numbers (an even count), the median will be the average of the two middle numbers (35 and 65): Median = (35 + 65) / 2 = 50 ounces

Step 3: Adding the 155 Ounce Package.

New weights: 25, 30, 35, 65, 70, 75, 155 ounces

Step 4: Calculate the Mean with the 155 Ounce Package.

Sum = 25 + 30 + 35 + 65 + 70 + 75 + 155 = 455 ounces Mean = 455 / 7 = 65.0 ounces

Step 5: Calculate the Median with the 155 Ounce Package.

Sorted weights: 25, 30, 35, 65, 70, 75, 155

Now that there are 7 numbers (an odd count), the median will be the middle number (the 4th number). Median = 65 ounces

Step 6: Determine the Change in Mean and Median.

  • Original Mean = 50 ounces → New Mean = 65 ounces ➔ Mean increases by 15 ounces.
  • Original Median = 50 ounces → New Median = 65 ounces ➔ Median increases by 15 ounces.

Conclusion: Both the mean and the median increase by 15 ounces when the 155-ounce package is included.

Thus, the answer is:

A. The median and the mean will stay the same.