Question 10

Mode is the statistical measure that is less affected by outliers and skewed data.

The mode represents the most frequently occurring value in a data set. In the context of the spa's massage package durations, it would identify the duration that is most popular among customers without being influenced by extreme values or skewed distribution.

A) Standard deviation

Standard deviation measures the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values. It is sensitive to outliers; therefore, in cases where data is skewed or contains extreme values, the standard deviation may not accurately represent the central tendency of the data.

B) Mode

The mode is the most suitable measure in this scenario as it reflects the most popular massage duration among customers. It is not influenced by outliers or skewness in the data, making it an effective choice for understanding customer preferences.

C) Mean

The mean, or average, is calculated by summing all values and dividing by the number of values. It can be heavily skewed by outliers, particularly in this case where massage session durations vary significantly, thus making it less representative of the actual popularity of each package.

D) Median

The median represents the middle value in a data set when arranged in order. While it is less affected by outliers than the mean, it does not capture the most frequently chosen duration. In this context, it does not provide the specific information about which duration is most popular.

Conclusion

The mode is definitively the best choice for this scenario as it directly identifies the most frequently chosen massage duration without the influence of outliers or skewed data. In contrast, standard deviation, mean, and median do not effectively serve the purpose of determining popularity in this case, as they either fail to indicate frequency or are influenced by extreme values.