In theMean and Medianapplet, place three observations on the line by clicking below it: two close together near the center of the line, and one somewhat to the right of these two.

(a) Pull the single rightmost observation out to the right. (Place the cursor on the point, hold down a mouse button, and drag the point.) How does the mean behave?

The mean moves to the left.

The mean moves to the right.

The mean doesn't move.

The mean exactly coincides with the median.

How does the median behave?

The median moves to the left.

The median moves to the right.

The median doesn't move.

The median exactly coincides with the mean.

Explain briefly why each measure acts as it does. (Select all that apply.)

The median always remains stationary as long as the middle point is not moved nor is any point moved past it. Note that with an odd number of observations there always is a middle point.

The mean gets pulled in the same direction that any point is moved since the movement of the point changes the sum of all points which is directly proportional to the mean.

This is a special case where the mean remains stationary. This is an exception to the general behavior where the mean is not a resistant measure.

The mean and median should always move together since they both are measures of the center of the distribution.

Since the median is a resistant measure while the mean is not, they move in opposite directions.

The median always moves in the direction the outlier was moved.