Let a, b, c N and a < b < c. Let the mean, the mean deviation about the mean and the variance of the 5 observations 9, 25, a, b, c be 18, 4 and 1365, respectively. Then 2a + b - c is equal to
Answer
33
Solution
Let p, q, r be the deviations of a, b, c from the mean 18 (deviations of 9, 25 are -9, 7).
Mean: 9 + 25 + a + b + c = 90 a + b + c = 56 p + q + r = 2
Mean deviation: 9 + 7 + |p| + |q| + |r| = 5 4 |p| + |q| + |r| = 4
Variance: 81 + 49 + p2 + q2 + r2 = 5 1365 p2 + q2 + r2 = 6
∵ integers: |p|, |q|, |r| = 1, 1, 2 (only choice); with p + q + r = 2 ⇒ deviations -1, 1, 2
a = 17, b = 19, c = 20 (a < b < c)
∴ 2a + b - c = 34 + 19 - 20 = 33
Answer: 33