Brown tree snakes are an invasive species causing huge environmental and financial damage in Guam. In June 2000, researchers captured 504 brown tree snakes on Guam's Andersen Air Force Base. On average, the snakes weighed 121 g, and ranged from 23 to 663 g at capture. From this information we conclude that the distribution of brown tree snake masses must be

Question

Brown tree snakes are an invasive species causing huge environmental and financial damage in Guam. In June 2000, researchers captured 504 brown tree snakes on Guam's Andersen Air Force Base. On average, the snakes weighed 121g and ranged from 23 to 663 g at capture. From this information, we conclude that the distribution of brown tree snake masses (that is weights) must be

A) roughly symmetric

B) left-skewed, have a low outlier, or both

C) right-skewed, have a high outlier, or both

D) multimodal (multiple peaked)

The correct answer is C)

From the information provided, the distribution of the brown tree snake masses is right-skewed, has a high outlier, or both.

Explanation:

In statistics, after evaluating data and representing it on a graph, it can show a normal distribution. A graph that is normally distributed has the mean (average), median, and mode to be all equal.

In some cases, the distributions skews to the left or to the right.

A right-skewed distribution happens when most data represented graphically are expressed on the right, or positive side, of the graph's peak.

A high outlier refers to a value from a set of data that falls or "lies outside"  most of the other values in that set of data. That is, it much smaller or larger than most of the data within its set. For example:

3, 4, 6, 2, 3, 6, 98, 1, 1, 2

In the number array above, 98 would be the outlier.

From the question above, it is very easy to see that the distance between the average and the highest possible weight of one snake is large.

Average is given at 121g

The largest occurring weight is given at 663g

The difference is 542.

Cheers