Sales Data Analysis: Mean, Median, and Standard Deviation

A researcher is analyzing the monthly sales (in thousands of dollars) of a small business over the last year. The data is as follows:

12, 15, 20, 18, 22, 10, 19, 30, 25, 13, 16, 21.

Based on this data, calculate the mean and the median sales for the year. Also, determine the standard deviation. Use the following formulas:

• Mean (average): $$ ext{Mean} =\frac{ ext{Sum of all data points}}{ ext{Number of data points}}$$
• Median: Sort the data points and find the middle value (or average of the two middle values if the number of data points is even).
• Standard Deviation: $$ ext{Standard Deviation} =\frac{ ext{Square Root of the Variance}}{}$$ where Variance is calculated as $$ ext{Variance} =\frac{ ext{Sum of squared differences from the mean}}{ ext{Number of data points}}$$

After calculating these statistics, compare the mean and median. Which is greater, and what does this suggest about the distribution of sales?