Prerequisites: Reviewing Data Collection and Analysis

Self Check Self Check: Mean, Median, Mode, Range, and Standard Deviation

Now, you try.  Complete the self-check activity by looking at the prompt below, working them out, and then clicking on the question to review the solution.

Source: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planetfact.html
Planet
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Mean Distance from Sun (AU)
0.4
0.7
1.0
1.5
5.2
9.5
19.2
30.1
Orbital period (yrs)
0.24
0.62
1.00
1.85
11.86
29.45
84.02
164.79
Mass (Earth=1.0)
0.055
0.815
1.000
0.107
318
95.2
14.5
17.1
Equatorial radius (km)
2439
6052
6371
3390
69,911
58,232
25,362
24,624
Density (kg/m3)
5430
5200
5520
3930
1330
690
1320
1640
Surface gravity (Earth=1)
0.38
0.91
1.00
0.38
2.36
0.92
0.89
1.12
Rotation Period

59d

CCW

243d

CW

1d

CCW

1.03d

CCW

9.92hr

CCW

10.66hr

CCW

17.24hr

CW

16.11hr

CCW
Number of Satellites (moons)
0
0
1
2
63
56
27
13

 

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What is the mean mass of the planets (in terms of Earth’s mass)?

The mean mass is 55.9 Earth masses.

the mean equals the quantity of zero point zero five five plus zero point eight one five plus one point zero plus zero point one zero seven plus three hundred eighteen plus ninety five point two plus fourteen point five plus seventeen point one end quantity all divided by eight equals fifty five point eight five

 

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What is the median mass of the planets in the table?

The median mass is 7.75 Earth masses.

Median equals one plus fourteen point five all divided by two equals seven point seven five

 

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If the data is sorted into groups of 10’s (i.e. 0-10, 11-20, etc). Which group represents the mode?
0-10 represents the mode. It is represented by four different planets.

 

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What is the range of masses in the table?

The range is 317.945.

Range equals three hundred eighteen minus zero point zero five five equals three hundred seventeen point nine four five

 

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What is the standard deviation of the masses?
The standard deviation of the masses is 103.5. It can be calculated by using the equation Sigma equals the Square root of the fraction the summation from i equals one to n of the quantity x sub i minus the mean of x end quantity squared all over n or plugging in the values into a graphing calculator or spreadsheet program.