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Problem-Solving and Data Analysis / One-variable data: Distributions and measures of center and spread Difficulty: Medium

Station 1	Station 2	Station 3	Station 4	Station 5
$3.699	$3.609	$3.729	$3.679	$3.729

In the table above, Melissa recorded the price of one gallon of regular gas from five different local gas stations on the same day. What is the median of the gas prices Melissa recorded?

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Explanation

Choice C is correct. The median of a data set is the middle value when the data is in ascending or descending order. In ascending order, the gas prices are $3.609, $3.679, $3.699, $3.729, and $3.729. The middle number of this list is 3.699, so it follows that $3.699 is the median gas price.

Choice A is incorrect. When the gas prices are listed in ascending order, this value isn’t the middle number. Choice B is incorrect. This value represents the mean gas price. Choice D is incorrect. This value represents both the mode and the maximum gas price.