25. James scored the following points per game in the last five basketball \( \quad 3 \) points games he played: \( 31,20,27,19,28 \). Find the mean absolute deviation of the number of points scored. A. 4.4 B. 6.2 C. 25 D. 125

To find the mean absolute deviation (MAD) of the points scored, first calculate the mean of the scores: Mean = \( \frac{31 + 20 + 27 + 19 + 28}{5} = \frac{125}{5} = 25 \). Next, calculate the absolute deviations from the mean: |31 - 25| = 6, |20 - 25| = 5, |27 - 25| = 2, |19 - 25| = 6, |28 - 25| = 3. Now, average those absolute deviations: MAD = \( \frac{6 + 5 + 2 + 6 + 3}{5} = \frac{22}{5} = 4.4 \). So, the mean absolute deviation is **A. 4.4**! Looking for a connection to the real world? In sports analytics, metrics like mean absolute deviation help teams evaluate player consistency. It’s not just about scoring points; it’s about understanding performance stability across games! Ever wondered why people make the same mistake repeatedly when calculating statistics? A common blunder is not using absolute values when determining deviations. Remember that even if a score is below the average, you're still looking for the size of the deviation — every point matters in that equation!