Which of the following Measures of central tendency is affected the most by…
2025
Which of the following Measures of central tendency is affected the most by extreme values ?
- A.
Mean
- B.
Median
- C.
Mode
- D.
Range
Attempted by 46 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
The mean is the measure of central tendency most affected by extreme values. This occurs because the calculation of the mean involves summing all data points and dividing by the count, meaning every single value directly influences the final result. Consequently, a very large or small outlier pulls the mean significantly toward itself. In contrast, the median represents the middle value of an ordered dataset. Since it depends only on position rather than magnitude, extreme values at the ends do not shift its location much. Similarly, the mode is simply the most frequent value and remains unchanged by outliers unless they become the new most common number. While range is affected by extremes, it measures spread rather than central tendency.",