Question

In each of Exercises 3.42-3.50, use the technology of your choice to obtain the measures of center that are appropriate from among the mean, median, and mode. Discuss your results and decide which measure of center is most appropriate. Provide a reason for your answer. Note: If an exercise contains more than one data set, perform the aforementioned tasks for each data set.

Bachelor's Completion. As reported by the U.S. Census Bureau in Educational Attainment in the United States, the percentage of adults in each state and the District of Columbia who have completed a bachelor's degree is provided on the WeissStats site.

Short answer

Median is the most appropriate.

The values of mean, median, and mode are 27.706, 27, and 25 respectively.

Step-by-step solution

Step 1. Given information.

The given statement is:

The percentage of adults in each state and the District of Columbia who have earned a bachelor's degree is presented.

Step 2. Determine the most suitable center measure.

The information provided is quantitative. As a result, the data's mean, median, and mode can be derived.

MINITAB is used to calculate the mean, median, and mode.

The following is the procedure for calculating the mean, median, and mode.

• Select Stat >Basic Statistics> Descriptive Statistics from the drop-down menu.
• Fill in the PERCENT columns in Variables.
• Select Statistic from the drop-down menu, then Mean, Median, and Mode.
• Click OK

Step 3. MINITAB output.

The output of MINITAB is displayed below.

The mean is 27.706, the median is 27, and the mode is 25 as shown in the figure.

As a result, the mean, median, and mode are the appropriate measures of center for the given data, with the mean being 27.706, the median being 27, and the mode being 25.

The median is the most appropriate because 50% of the state has a percentage of adults completing bachelor's competition of 27 percent or greater.