Mean is defined as the arithmetic average; sum of all values divided by number of values.

Mean is defined as the arithmetic average; sum of all values divided by number of values.

• A. Median
• B. Mode
• C. Range
• D. Mean

Answer: (D)

The main idea tested is how the average is defined. The best choice matches the arithmetic mean: you add up all the values and then divide by how many values there are. This uses every data point, which is why it’s the standard measure of central tendency called the mean. To see how this differs from the others: the median is the middle value in an ordered list (for an even number of values, the average of the two middle ones). The mode is the value that occurs most often. The range is simply the difference between the largest and smallest values. For example, with data 2, 3, 3, 10, the mean is 4.5, the median is 3, the mode is 3, and the range is 8; this highlights how the mean can be influenced by outliers and why other measures provide different perspectives on the data.

The main idea tested is how the average is defined. The best choice matches the arithmetic mean: you add up all the values and then divide by how many values there are. This uses every data point, which is why it’s the standard measure of central tendency called the mean.

To see how this differs from the others: the median is the middle value in an ordered list (for an even number of values, the average of the two middle ones). The mode is the value that occurs most often. The range is simply the difference between the largest and smallest values. For example, with data 2, 3, 3, 10, the mean is 4.5, the median is 3, the mode is 3, and the range is 8; this highlights how the mean can be influenced by outliers and why other measures provide different perspectives on the data.