High School

The Park City Zoo is home to 8 big cats. The male lion is the heaviest at 205 pounds, followed by the tiger at 190 pounds. Most of the cats weigh less than 180 pounds. The mean of the cats' weights is about 107 pounds, and the mean absolute deviation is about 61 pounds.

Which best describes the typical weight of a big cat at the Park City Zoo?

(A) 61 pounds
(B) 107 pounds
(C) 180 pounds
(D) 190 pounds

Answer :

To determine the typical weight of a big cat at the Park City Zoo, you will want to examine the statistical information provided in the question.

  1. Mean Weight: The mean weight of the big cats is given as [tex]107[/tex] pounds. The mean is the average weight, calculated by adding all individual weights and dividing by the number of cats. This gives an idea of the central tendency of the data.

  2. Mean Absolute Deviation: The mean absolute deviation (MAD) is [tex]61[/tex] pounds. This is a measure of how spread out the weights of the cats are around the mean. A higher MAD indicates that the weights are more spread out.

  3. Weight Description: We know that despite the heavier weights of the male lion and the tiger, most of the big cats weigh less than [tex]180[/tex] pounds.

The question asks which option best describes the 'typical' weight. The mean weight of [tex]107[/tex] pounds gives us an average value around which most of the data is centered. Although there is a considerable spread in the weights (as indicated by the MAD), the mean is still the best single measure of central tendency.

Thus, the choice that best describes the typical weight of a big cat at the Park City Zoo is:

(B) 107 pounds.

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