Prentice Hall Algebra 1

12-3 Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion

Objective

To find mean, median, mode, and range

Solve it: Anya says, “A good player scores a lot of points and makes a lot of assists.”
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Essential Understanding You can use different measures to interpret and compare sets of data.

One way to summarize a set of data is to use a measure of central tendency. Mean, median, and mode are all measures of central tendency.

The measure of central tendency that best describes a data set may depend on whether the data set has an outlier. An outlier is a data value that is much greater or less than the other values in the set. Below is a review of mean, median, and mode, and when to use each as the measure of central tendency.


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Table of Contents

Prentice Hall Algebra 1 Chapter 1 Foundations for Algebra Chapter 2 Solving Equations Chapter 3 Solving Inequalities Chapter 4 An Introduction to Functions Chapter 5 Linear Functions Chapter 6 Systems of Equations and Inequalities Chapter 7 Exponents and Exponential Functions Chapter 8 Polynomials and Factoring Chapter 9 Quadratic Functions and Equations Chapter 10 Radical Expressions and Equations Chapter 11 Rational Expressions and Functions Chapter 12 Data Analysis and Probability Skills Handbook Reference Visual Glossary Selected Answers Index Acknowledgments