An environmental scientist is monitoring the levels of dissolved oxygen (in mg/L) in a localized section of a river to assess ecological health. Ten independent water samples were taken from the same reach at midday.
The dissolved oxygen levels recorded are shown in the table below:
| Sample | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dissolved oxygen (mg/L) | 6.8 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 0.4 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 7.0 | 7.2 |
The scientist initially plans to use the arithmetic mean of these 10 samples to represent the typical dissolved oxygen level of this section of the river.
Suggest a more appropriate measure of central tendency for this data set and explain why it is more appropriate in this context.
235 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Psychology Data handling and analysis. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.