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In a distribution skewed to the right, how do the three measures of center line up?
AMode below median below mean
BMean below median below mode
CMean below mode below median
DMedian below mode below mean
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Mode below median below mean
1. A long tail on the right pulls the mean toward the high values.
2. The median moves that way too, but less than the mean does.
3. The mode stays put at the tallest part of the graph, which is on the left.
4. So the order runs mode, then median, then mean.
5. Reversing that order describes a distribution skewed to the left instead.
_Source: OpenStax High School Statistics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 2 "Descriptive Statistics" and Ch 3 "Probability Topics", section 2.6 Skewness and the Mean, Median, and Mode_
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