1. A spa wants to determine which duration of its massage packages is the most popular. The spa has 30-minute, 50-minute, and 75-minute sessions. Which statistical measure should be used and is less affected by outliers and skewed data?
Answer: A
Mode is the statistical measure that should be used for determining the most popular duration of massage packages.
The mode represents the most frequently occurring duration among the massage packages offered, making it ideal for identifying popularity. Since it only considers the most common value, it is less influenced by outliers and skewed data.
A) Mode
Mode is the most appropriate choice because it identifies the most popular duration directly by indicating which length has the highest frequency. This measure effectively captures the preferences of the clients without being skewed by extreme values or outliers in the data.
B) Median
While the median is a useful measure for central tendency, it does not indicate which duration is the most popular. Instead, it represents the middle value when all durations are arranged in order, which might not reflect client preferences accurately.
C) Standard deviation
Standard deviation measures the dispersion of data points around the mean but does not provide any information about which duration is the most popular. It is not suitable for this purpose as it focuses on variability rather than frequency.
D) Mean
The mean calculates the average duration of the massage packages, but it can be heavily influenced by outliers. In cases where certain durations are significantly less or more popular, the mean may not accurately reflect the most favored choice.
Conclusion
The mode is the definitive choice for identifying the most popular massage duration, as it focuses solely on frequency and is unaffected by outliers. All other options, while useful in different contexts, do not provide the necessary information about popularity and could misrepresent client preferences.