Being that trips average 15 minutes does that mean that all trips are around 15 minutes? Can you have a diverse group of travel times where the average is 15 minutes but some travelers are on the bus for more like 45 or 50 minutes without air conditioning?

Can you create a data set where the average is around 15 but not all of the data is close to 15?

If the data is skewed, you can end up with an average that might mean some people traveling for under 10 minutes but others traveling for over an hour in the subway heat!

Here is an example for 5 riders:

Rider 1 rides for 5 minutes

Rider 2 rides for 2 minutes

Rider 3 rides for 3 minutes

Rider 4 rides for 4 minutes

Rider 5 rides for x minutes -- x is the time that we are trying to figure out!

Set up an equation for the average equalling 5 minutes.

5+2+3+1+x = 15

5

Multiply both sides by 5.

Add the numbers on the left.

5+2+3+1+x = (15)(5)

11 + x = 75

Subtract 11 from both sides.

x = 75 - 11

x = 64

So, from our 5 riders, 4 are five minutes and under and 1 rider is riding for 64 minutes! YIKES, that is a long time to be without air conditioning in New York City!

Can you create a similar example?

Share with us some potential stats for this type of scenario that would get a mean of 15. Try this with a population of 5 riders. Can you show us what the statistics might look like with skewed quartiles but ending up with a mean of 15 minutes?