The mean, median, and mode are collectively known as

• A. Measures of dispersion
• B. Measures of central tendency
• C. Measures of shape
• D. Measures of outliers

Answer: (B)

Central tendency describes the typical value in a data set, and the mean, median, and mode are all ways to summarize where data tend to center. The mean gives the arithmetic average, the median is the middle value when the data are ordered, and the mode is the most frequent value. Together, they capture the central point around which the data cluster, which is why they’re called measures of central tendency. They differ in how they respond to unusual values and the type of data, which is useful to know when choosing which to report. Measures of dispersion describe how spread out the data are, and measures of shape describe the distribution’s form, not the central location.