Describing distributions with Numbers | SHUBLEKA 

   

Distribution: a brief description of a distribution must include its shape and numbers describing its center and
spread.

Measuring the Center: Mean Vs Median

• Mean = “average value”

• Median = “middle value”

x1 + x2 +...+ xn ∑ xi
Mean = x = n = n

Example: Fuel economy MPG for 2004 vehicles (outlier: Honda Insight)
¾ The mean is sensitive to the influence of a few extreme observations that “pull it” towards
the longer tail. The mean is not a resistant measure of the center of a distribution.
¾ We can make the mean as extreme as we want by significantly changing one single
observation.

Median = M = the midpoint of a distribution, the number such that half the observations are
smaller and the other half are larger. The position of the median is n+1
2 ; if odd number of observations, the
middle observation is the median; if even number of observations, the median M is the average of the middle
two observations.

Demonstration: Mean and Median Applet Æ www.whfreeman.com/tps3e

¾ The median and mean of a symmetric distribution are close together

¾ If perfectly symmetric, the two measures are the same
¾ In a skewed distribution, the mean is farther out in the long tail than is the median
¾ Do not confuse “average” with “typical”

Five number summary: Min – Q1 – M – Q3 – Max

¾ The scope, quartiles, and median offer a reasonably complete description of center and
spread.
Example: Highway Gas Mileage: 13 18 23 27 32
¾ Boxplot
• Central box spans quartiles
• A line in the box marks the median M
• Lines extend from the box to the Min and Max values
¾ Interquartile Range – IQR = distance between quartiles = the range of the center half of
the data = Q3 – Q1
¾ Suspected outlier Ù it falls more than 1.5 IQR above the third quartile or below the
first quartile

One-Variable Statistics with the graphing calculator