Question

The following data depicts the various modes of public transportation used by various groups of people between two particular cities:

Mode of Transportation

Bus
Rental Car Train Metro Tram
Number of passengers

800	600	4,000	900	700

Which measure of central tendency represents the best value?

• A. Mean
• B. Mode
• C. Median

Answer 1

The correct option is C Median

Let's find the mean, mode, and median sequentially and compare the result.

1. Mean
Mean/average
$=$ (Sum of all the data)/(Total number of data points)

$\Rightarrow$ Sum of all the data
$=800+600+4000+900+700$
$=7000$

Total number of data points = 5

Mean/average $=\frac{7000}{5}$
$=1400$
This value is not closer and quite offset from all the data points.

2. Mode
As in the given data set, all modes of transport occur exactly once and there is no mode in it.

3. Median
To determine the median, we arrange the data points in ascending order.
Mode of Transportation
Rental Car Tram Bus Metro Train Number of passengers

600	700	800	900	4,000

The number at the middle position of the arranged data set is 800 which corresponds to the number of passengers traveling by bus.

Here, 800 is quite closer to other data points of the given data set.

Hence, compared to mean, median represents better measure of central tendency for this particular data set.