Measures Of Central Tendency And Dispersion

Question 1

What measures of central tendency are there?

Answer 1

• Mean
• Mode
• Median

Question 2

What measures of dispersion are there?

Answer 2

• Range

- Standard deviation

Question 3

What is the mean?

Answer 3

It is the average and it is calculated by adding all the values and then dividing it by the quantity of values there are

Question 4

What is the advantage of the mean and disadvantage of the mean?

Answer 4

• An advantage is the most sensitive measure of central tendency which means it takes into account all values in the data which also means it is the most representative of the data as a whole
• A disadvantage of the mean is that it can be distorted by extreme values which means it does not represent the average of the data set as a whole.

Question 5

What is the median?

Answer 5

It is the middle of the sorted list of numbers or values that are in order

Question 6

What is the advantage and disadvantage of the median?

Answer 6

• An advantage is that the median is not affected by extreme scores therefore it can be more representative of the data set overall if there are extreme scores
• A disadvantage is that it does not take into account all sets of values in the data and it is less sensitive than the mean therefore it can be less representative of the data as a whole

Question 7

What is the mode?

Answer 7

-It is the most common score in the data set

Question 8

What is an advantage and disadvantage of the mode?

Answer 8

• An advantage is that if the data is nominal or categorical this is the only measure of central tendency that can be used
• A disadvantage is that it is a very basic measure and may not represent the data set as a whole

Question 9

What doe measures of dispersion measure?

Answer 9

-It measures variability usually known as spread

Question 10

What is the range?

Answer 10

It is a calculation which involves taking the lowest value away from the highest value

Question 11

What is the advantage and disadvantage of range?

Answer 11

• An advantage of the range is that it is easy and quick to calculate
• A disadvantage is that it only takes into account two sets of extreme values from the data which may be unrepresentative of the data as a whole.

Question 12

What is standard deviation?

Answer 12

-It is a single value that represents how much of a spread or dispersion there is in the data

Question 13

What is an advantage and disadvantage of standard deviation?

Answer 13

• An advantage is that it takes into account all values in the data therefore it can be more representative than the range
• A disadvantage of standard deviation is that it can be distorted by extreme values therefore it can be less representative of the data set as a whole