Every
year there are hundreds of benefit races throughout the United States.
The Seattle Pratt and Chew Classic is a 4 mi race that benefits
an emergency feeding program for the homeless. The finishing times
for the 16-and-under age group in the 1995 Classic are shown.
For
Questions 12-13, use the results shown at the right.
12
Discussion
Suppose a middle school student finished the Pratt and Chew
Classic with a time of 35 min. Based on the results shown at
the right, do you think that time is fast, slow,
or average
Explain.
Sample
Response: average; Most of the finishing times are in the 30s.
One
way to answer Question 12 is to find an average or typical finishing
time.
13
a.
Find
the mean of the finishing times for the 16-and-under age group.
Round your answer to the nearest tenth. 40.7
min
b.
The
median is the middle item
when you order a data set from least to greatest. When there
are an even number of data items, the median is the mean of
the two middle numbers. Find the median of the finishing times
for the 16-and-under age group. 39
min
c.
The
mode is the item that appears most often in a data set. Find
the mode of the finishing times for the 16-and-under age group.
31
min and 39 min
14.
a. The mode and median would be the same, but th mean would be lowered
to 39.0 min. b.
Sample Response: the median; Most of the finishing times are in
the 30s.
14
a.
Suppose
81 had not been included in the data set. How would that affect
each average you found in Question 13
b.
Discussion
Which average in Question 13 do you think
best represents the running data
Explain.
Explain. 
One
way to answer Question 12 is to find an average or typical finishing
time.
