Mean, Median or Mode

"You see my dilemma now don't you, Scales?" Goose asked.

"Yes, it is quite a problem to solve. I can do a survey on the best price and home size for you, then make a recommendation. If that is all right with you, of course."

"That is an excellent idea. In fact, if you help me with this one, I will give you 5% of my profits from any home I sell."

A shiver of energy rolled down Scales's full length. "Hmm. We have to calculate the averages first though, and in this case, I suggest we do ones for the size and price of homes. Animals in the free market you have developed tend to collect around averages since that is where the market stabilizes. This way we will be able to guesstimate the largest group you can sell to, and hopefully this will make your next construction project a success."

Goose riffled through the feathers of one wing as he thought through what Scales just told him. Finally he lifted his head and said, "Yes, it makes perfect sense to do a survey first. I leave the matter in your hands, and of course, I will pay you for them."

The morning of the survey arrived and instead of letting Snow Ears randomly choose the houses, he chose them for his assistant. Off the rabbit hopped with an immunity badge firmly strapped around his neck. Even so, his voice trembled when he entered the bear's cave as he asked the occupant the two survey questions Scales had prepared. Thankfully the other animals he had to visit were less intimidating: 1 fox, 1 wart hog, 2 rabbits, 1 squirrel and 2 badgers.

When he returned to the office that afternoon, Scales was extremely pleased with the data he had collected.

"Well done, my boy," Scales said. "You should take the rest of the day off."

"Are you sure, Mr. Scales? Don't you need help with the data?"

"The more difficult work had been done by you. It will only take me a few minutes to do the calculation, and maybe another hour to complete the report."

Snow Ears scampered off home with hops and jogs and somersaults. As he prepared to settle in for the night after supper, he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten about the cabbage leaf lunch that he had left under his desk. Dr. Scales was going to be furious if the office smells like cabbage fart. He dashed back to the tree hole, and was relieved to hear Scales humming to himself three branches up. Quietly, he rolled the ball of leaves and compost away from the opening and crept inside. He munched up the cabbage leaf as fast as he could, and just when he was about to turn to leave, he noticed a soft glow about Scales's work station. His throat choked, and true enough, on reaching the spot he saw green glowing worms wiggling their way about the papers strewn on top of the desk. The rabbit shooed them away and as he did so, his eyes fell on the following calculations,

Mean averages

(4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 15) ÷ 9 = 6.56 square feet

(1.8 + 2 + 2 + 2.1 + 2.5 + 11 + 12 + 12.5 + 100) ÷ 9 = 16.2 thousand seeds

Median

The middle point, which is the 5th house after size and price had been arranged in ascending order.

4 square feet

2.5 thousand seeds

Mode

The size and price that occurs most frequently in the dataset.

4 square feet

2 thousand seeds

After sweeping out the glow-worms, Snow Ears resealed the office carefully and left, hoping that Scales would not notice anything amiss with his papers the following morning. Again his mind returned to the calculation; 4 square feet at between 2 - 2.5 thousand seeds made perfect sense to him because that was the feel he got when he visited the area. He had learned enough about Statistics to know that the bear's den was an outlier, and should not have been included in the dataset. Then again, Dr. Scales was his boss, and Snow Ears was not the type of employee who argues.

The next day, Scales made a presentation of his findings to Goose.

"Base on the Mean Average, I can safely say that the average size of home in demand is 6.56 feet at the price of 16.2 thousand seeds. I believe that you can sell your homes like hot cakes if you charge 16 thousand."

Goose honked excitedly, "That is excellent work, my friend. I will start construction immediately."

"You don't mind if I report my findings in the Jungle Post, do you?"

"Not at all. Everyone should be informed about important things like this."

Goose waddled happily out of the hole, and as Scales turned to his desk, the rabbit ducked his head behind a stack of papers. What should I do? What should I do?

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