Question 1.68

1.68 Smolts. Smolts are young salmon at a stage when their skin becomes covered with silvery scales and they start to migrate from freshwater to the sea. The reflectance of a light shined on a smolt’s skin is a measure of the smolt’s readiness for the migration. Here are the reflectances, in percents, for a sample of 50 smolts: 25

SMOLTS

57.6 54.8 63.4 57.0 54.7 42.3 63.6 55.5 33.5 63.3
58.3 42.1 56.1 47.8 56.1 55.9 38.8 49.7 42.3 45.6
69.0 50.4 53.0 38.3 60.4 49.3 42.8 44.5 46.4 44.3
58.9 42.1 47.6 47.9 69.2 46.6 68.1 42.8 45.6 47.3
59.6 37.8 53.9 43.2 51.4 64.5 43.8 42.7 50.9 43.8
  1. (a) Find the mean reflectance for these smolts.

  2. (b) Find the median reflectance for these smolts.

  3. (c) Do you prefer the mean or the median as a measure of center for these data? Give reasons for your preference.