Question

Outliers can change the median more than they can change the average... true or false?

Answer 1

Ans: False

Outsliers are values that vary extremely from the other values in the data. When data is arranged in ascending or descending order, outliers lie in the extreme ends of the arrangement. They do not afftect the order of arrangement and hence, the median, which is the middle value, will remain mostly unchanged. But when we calculate mean (average), we sum up all values including outliers and divide the sum by the number of values. Therefore, the value of outlier matters here and impacts the average. Therefore, the given statement is false.