What happens to the mean if an outlier is added to a data set?It remains unchanged.It becomes the new median.It may be skewed in the direction of the outlier.It becomes the mode

The mean of a data set can be significantly affected by the addition of an outlier. The mean, or average, is calculated by adding up all the numbers in a data set and then dividing by the number of items in that set. If an outlier, which is a number that is significantly higher or lower than the other numbers in the set, is added, it can skew the mean in the direction of the outlier.

For example, consider a data set of the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The mean of this set is 3. If we add an outlier of 20 to the set, the new mean becomes 5.83. This is significantly higher than the original mean and is skewed in the direction of the outlier.

The mean does not become the new median or the mode. The median is the middle number in a sorted list of numbers, and the mode is the number that appears most frequently. The addition of an outlier can affect these measures of central tendency, but the mean does not become either one.