A researcher records the time taken (in seconds) by a small sample of 7 participants to complete a complex cognitive puzzle under timed conditions. The recorded times are:
45,48,51,53,55,58,210 45, 48, 51, 53, 55, 58, 210 45,48,51,53,55,58,210Which of the following statements correctly identifies the properties of the measures of central tendency for this dataset?
The mean is approximately 74.3 seconds74.3\text{ seconds}74.3 seconds and is unrepresentative of the typical performance because it is inflated by the outlier.
The median is 53 seconds53\text{ seconds}53 seconds and is unrepresentative of the typical performance because it ignores the actual values of all other participants.
The mean is 53 seconds53\text{ seconds}53 seconds and is the most representative measure because it includes every single data point in its calculation.
The median is approximately 74.3 seconds74.3\text{ seconds}74.3 seconds because the extreme outlier shifts the middle position of the ordered distribution.
513 exam-style questions on OCR A Level Psychology Data recording, analysis and presentation. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.