E4-1 Math Link

Cavendish repeated his experiment a number of times in order to improve the accuracy of his results. He did the experiment 29 times, and then published his 29 values that he calculated for the density of the Earth. Here are his 29 values:

5.50
5.61
4.88
5.07
5.26
5.55
5.36
5.29
5.58
5.65
5.57
5.53
5.62
5.29
5.44
5.34
5.79
5.10
5.27
5.39
5.42
5.47
5.63
5.34
5.46
5.30
5.75
5.68
5.85

  1. Calculate the mean (average) of these data points. (This is the value that should have been published by Cavendish, not the value of 5.48 g/cm3 that actually appeared in print.)

    5.45
  2. Calculate the median for these data points.

    5.46
  3. Determine the mode(s) for these data points.

    Two modes: 5.29 and 5.34
  4. The currently accepted value for the average density of the Earth is 5.55 g/cm3. Did the mean, median, or mode of Cavendish's data provide the more accurate answer?

    The median provided the most accurate answer.