Suppose that the mean and median of the non-negative numbers 21, 8, 17, a, 51, 103, b, 13, 67, (a>b), are 40 and 21, respectively. If the mean deviation about the median is 26, then 2a is equal to :
- 109
- 117
- 161
- 131
Answer
(4) 131
Solution
There are 9 numbers with mean 40, so their total is 360.
The known numbers add up to 21 + 8 + 17 + 51 + 103 + 13 + 67 = 280, hence a + b = 80.
The mean deviation about the median 21 is 26, so |xi - 21| = 9 26 = 234.
For the known numbers this sum is 0 + 13 + 4 + 30 + 82 + 8 + 46 = 183, which leaves
|a - 21| + |b - 21| = 51
If a, b 21, then a + b - 42 = 38 51; if a, b<21, then a + b<42, which is impossible. Hence b<21 a, and
(a - 21) + (21 - b) = 51 a - b = 51
Together with a + b = 80 this gives a = 1312 and b = 292.
Check of the median: 8, 13, 14.5, 17, 21, 51, 65.5, 67, 103 — the 5th value is 21, as required.
∴ 2a = 131
Answer: (4)