A disadvantage of using an arithmetic mean to summarize a set of data is
A) The arithmetic mean sometimes has two values.
B) It can be used for interval and ratio data
C) It is always different from the median.
D) It can be biased by one or two extremely small or large values.
E) It doesn't always exist.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The arithmetic mean is sensitive to outliers because it takes into account every value in the data set. This means that one or two extremely small or large values can greatly affect the value of the mean. This can lead to a biased summary of the data if the outliers are not representative of the rest of the data. Therefore, D is the correct answer as it points out this disadvantage.

A Disadvantage of Using an Arithmetic Mean to Summarize a Set