Descriptive Statistics & Measures
of Central Tendency questions
with answers newest edition
(Q1–Q20)
1. A hospital quality improvement team collects systolic blood pressure readings of 1,500
patients. The data are approximately normally distributed with no significant outliers.
Which measure of central tendency should they use to represent the average?
A. Median
B. Mode
C. Mean
D. Range
Answer: C
Rationale: The mean is the arithmetic average and is the preferred measure for normally
distributed numerical data without extreme outliers .
2. A researcher analyzes emergency department waiting times and finds a small number of
patients experienced extremely long delays. Which measure of central tendency best
represents the typical patient experience?
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Standard deviation
Answer: B
Rationale: The median is resistant to extreme values and better represents the center of
skewed distributions .
3. Which measure of central tendency is most affected by extreme values (outliers)?
A. Median
B. Mode
C. Mean
D. Range
,Answer: C
Rationale: The mean can be significantly skewed by extreme values, while the median and
mode are more robust .
4. In a dataset of hospital admission ages, the age 65 appears more frequently than any
other age. This value represents the:
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Standard deviation
Answer: C
Rationale: The mode is the value that appears most frequently in a dataset .
5. What is the mean of the following dataset: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50?
A. 20
B. 25
C. 30
D. 40
Answer: C
Rationale: (10 + 20 + 30 + 40 + 50) / 5 = = 30 .
6. A dataset of patient ages is displayed as a histogram. What is the primary purpose of
this graph?
A. To show the relationship between two variables
B. To compare categorical data across groups
C. To display the distribution of a continuous variable
D. To illustrate the proportion of each category
Answer: C
Rationale: A histogram displays the distribution of a continuous variable by showing
frequency within intervals (bins) .
7. A researcher wants to display the frequency of blood types (A, B, AB, O) in a sample.
Which graph is most appropriate?
A. Histogram
B. Scatter plot
, C. Bar chart
D. Line graph
Answer: C
Rationale: A bar chart is ideal for displaying the frequency of categorical data such as blood
types .
8. In a box plot, the line inside the box represents the:
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Range
Answer: B
Rationale: In a box-and-whisker plot, the line inside the box represents the median (50th
percentile) .
9. A graphical representation that plots the frequency of data along a horizontal line is
called a:
A. Box plot
B. Dot plot
C. Scatterplot
D. Histogram
Answer: B
Rationale: A dot plot plots individual data points along a horizontal axis to show frequency .
10. A table that contains frequency counts for two categorical variables is called a:
A. Contingency table
B. Frequency distribution
C. Histogram
D. Scatterplot
Answer: A
Rationale: A contingency table (or two-way frequency table) displays counts for two
categorical variables .
11. A distribution where the long tail of the curve is on the negative side of the peak is
called:
of Central Tendency questions
with answers newest edition
(Q1–Q20)
1. A hospital quality improvement team collects systolic blood pressure readings of 1,500
patients. The data are approximately normally distributed with no significant outliers.
Which measure of central tendency should they use to represent the average?
A. Median
B. Mode
C. Mean
D. Range
Answer: C
Rationale: The mean is the arithmetic average and is the preferred measure for normally
distributed numerical data without extreme outliers .
2. A researcher analyzes emergency department waiting times and finds a small number of
patients experienced extremely long delays. Which measure of central tendency best
represents the typical patient experience?
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Standard deviation
Answer: B
Rationale: The median is resistant to extreme values and better represents the center of
skewed distributions .
3. Which measure of central tendency is most affected by extreme values (outliers)?
A. Median
B. Mode
C. Mean
D. Range
,Answer: C
Rationale: The mean can be significantly skewed by extreme values, while the median and
mode are more robust .
4. In a dataset of hospital admission ages, the age 65 appears more frequently than any
other age. This value represents the:
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Standard deviation
Answer: C
Rationale: The mode is the value that appears most frequently in a dataset .
5. What is the mean of the following dataset: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50?
A. 20
B. 25
C. 30
D. 40
Answer: C
Rationale: (10 + 20 + 30 + 40 + 50) / 5 = = 30 .
6. A dataset of patient ages is displayed as a histogram. What is the primary purpose of
this graph?
A. To show the relationship between two variables
B. To compare categorical data across groups
C. To display the distribution of a continuous variable
D. To illustrate the proportion of each category
Answer: C
Rationale: A histogram displays the distribution of a continuous variable by showing
frequency within intervals (bins) .
7. A researcher wants to display the frequency of blood types (A, B, AB, O) in a sample.
Which graph is most appropriate?
A. Histogram
B. Scatter plot
, C. Bar chart
D. Line graph
Answer: C
Rationale: A bar chart is ideal for displaying the frequency of categorical data such as blood
types .
8. In a box plot, the line inside the box represents the:
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Range
Answer: B
Rationale: In a box-and-whisker plot, the line inside the box represents the median (50th
percentile) .
9. A graphical representation that plots the frequency of data along a horizontal line is
called a:
A. Box plot
B. Dot plot
C. Scatterplot
D. Histogram
Answer: B
Rationale: A dot plot plots individual data points along a horizontal axis to show frequency .
10. A table that contains frequency counts for two categorical variables is called a:
A. Contingency table
B. Frequency distribution
C. Histogram
D. Scatterplot
Answer: A
Rationale: A contingency table (or two-way frequency table) displays counts for two
categorical variables .
11. A distribution where the long tail of the curve is on the negative side of the peak is
called:
