Bunuel
During a science experiment, each measurement result was affected by the same calibration error and had to be adjusted. The corrected result m for each result was calculated as m = -0.5n + 10, where n was the original recorded value. The average (arithmetic mean) of the original measurements was 7.3 and the standard deviation of the original measurements was 2.9.
Select for
Corrected Mean the average (arithmetic mean) of the corrected results, and select for
Corrected Standard Deviation the standard deviation of the corrected results. Make only two selections, one in each column.
GMAT Club Official Explanation:
Since each original measurement n was transformed into a corrected result m = -0.5n + 10, the corrected mean is simply the average of all the m values. But since this transformation is applied identically to each individual value, we can apply the same transformation directly to the original mean.
That is, the corrected mean is:
Corrected mean = -0.5 * (original mean) + 10
Corrected mean = -0.5 * 7.3 + 10 = -3.65 + 10 = 6.35
As for the standard deviation, two key properties are useful:
- If we multiply (or divide) all the numbers in a set by a non-zero constant, the standard deviation will be respectively multiplied or divided by the absolute value of that constant. For example, if the SD of \(\{a, \ b, \ c\}\) is \(s\), then the SD of \(\{2a, \ 2b, \ 2c\}\) will be \(2s\) and the SD of \(\{-3a, \ -3b, \ -3c\}\) will be \(s*|-3|=3s\).
- If we add (or subtract) a constant to all the numbers in a set, the standard deviation will NOT change. For example, if the SD of \(\{a, \ b, \ c\}\) is \(s\), then the SD of \(\{a+4, \ b+4, \ c+4\}\) or of \(\{a-1, \ b-1, \ c-1\}\) will also be \(s\).
Since the transformation is m = -0.5n + 10, the scaling factor is -0.5 and the shift is +10. The +10 has no effect on the standard deviation, and the multiplication by -0.5 scales the SD by |-0.5| = 0.5.
Original SD = 2.9
Corrected SD = |-0.5| * 2.9 = 1.45