81 APPLET Mean Versus Median 2.3 ACTIVITY You can find the interactive applet for this activity at MyLab Statistics. SECTION 2.3 Measures of Central Tendency 81 The Mean versus median applet is designed to allow you to investigate interactively the mean and the median as measures of the center of a data set. You can generate a data set by entering a Sample size and clicking Simulate. You can also generate data values by clicking Add point or by clicking above the horizontal axis. The mean of the points is shown as a green arrow and the median is shown as a red arrow. When the two values are the same, a single green arrow is displayed. Numeric values for the mean and the median are shown in the table at the right. Remove a data value by dragging the corresponding point outside the axis range. Remove all the data values and their corresponding points from the data set by clicking Reset. Sample size: Mean versus Median Summary Statistics: Mean Median 0 Simulate 2 4 x 6 8 Add point Reset Info EXPLORE Step 1 Specify a Sample size. Step 2 Click Simulate. Step 3 Add and remove various points to and from the plot. Step 4 Remove all the points from the plot. DRAW CONCLUSIONS 1. Simulate several data sets using a Sample size of 5. Do you notice any tendencies of the plotted points in a data set when the mean and the median are the same (or very close)? Do you notice any tendencies of the plotted points in a data set when the mean and the median are not very close? Explain. 2. Create a plot of 10 data points that are symmetric about the value x = 5. What do you notice about the mean and the median of the data set? Is it possible to add a single point without changing the mean or median? Explain. Is it possible to add a single point to any data set without changing the mean or median? Explain. APPLET
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