Which of the following is the appropriate descriptive statistic to use?

A cereal manufacturer wants to determine whether the sugar content of its cereal has increased over the years.

Which of the following is the appropriate descriptive statistic to use?
A . Frequency
B . Percent change
C . Variance
D . Mean

View Answer

Answer: B

Explanation:

This is because percent change is a type of descriptive statistic that measures the relative change or difference of a variable over time, such as the sugar content of cereal over years in this case. Percent change can be used to determine whether the sugar content of cereal has increased over years by comparing the initial and final values of the sugar content, as well as calculating the ratio or proportion of the change. For example, percent change can be used to determine whether the sugar content of cereal has increased over years by finding out how much more (or less) sugar there is in cereal now than before, as well as expressing it as a fraction or a percentage of the original sugar content. The other descriptive statistics are not appropriate to use to determine whether the sugar content of cereal has increased over years.

Here is why:

Frequency is a type of descriptive statistic that measures how often or how likely a value or an event occurs in a data set, such as how many times a certain sugar content appears in cereal in this case. Frequency does not measure the relative change or difference of a variable over time, but rather measures the occurrence or chance of a variable at a given time.

Variance is a type of descriptive statistic that measures how much the values in a data set vary or deviate from the mean or average of the data set, such as how much variation there is in sugar content among different cereals in this case. Variance does not measure the relative change or difference of a variable over time, but rather measures the dispersion or spread of a variable at a given time.

Mean is a type of descriptive statistic that measures the average value or central tendency of a data set, such as what is the typical sugar content of cereal in this case. Mean does not measure the relative change or difference of a variable over time, but rather measures the summary or representation of a variable at a given time.