Sale prices are arrayed from lowest to highest before analysis. What is the primary purpose?
Correct Answer
B) To reveal the distribution and locate the middle
An ordered array helps locate the median and inspect gaps, clusters and extremes. Sorting does not change the arithmetic mean. It supplies neither transaction dates nor evidence that a sale is verified. Ordering is useful for the stated descriptive task; there is no universal requirement that every statistical workflow begin this way.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option B is correct because an ordered array reveals the shape of the distribution and lets the analyst locate the middle value, the median. It also makes gaps, clusters and extremes visible. Examining the distribution is a recommended first step in analyzing sale data.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: To determine which sale closed most recently
Option A says arraying prices determines which sale closed most recently. Sorting by price gives no information about sale dates, which must come from the transaction records.
Option C: To calculate the mean more accurately than before
Option C claims sorting lets you calculate the mean more accurately than before. The arithmetic mean is the sum divided by the count, and reordering the values does not change it.
Option D: To identify which sales require verification
Option D says the array identifies which sales require verification. A sale's position in a price list does not show whether it has been confirmed; verification depends on checking the transaction itself, though extreme values may prompt a closer look.
Line them up, find middle
Lining up sales from low to high is like lining people up by height: the shape of the group and the person in the middle become obvious.
How to use: Use this to recall that arraying supports the median and distribution review.
Exam Tip
Sorting changes order, not values; answers claiming it improves the mean or reveals dates are wrong.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Believing sorting changes the mean
- -Assuming price order reveals sale dates
- -Treating position in the array as proof of verification status
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests why data are arrayed in order before analysis. Sorting values from lowest to highest makes it easy to find the median and to see gaps, clusters and extreme values. It does not change the mean or add information about dates or verification.
Background Knowledge
An array is an ordered arrangement of data by magnitude. It is the basis for finding the median, quartiles and range, and for spotting unusual observations. Examining the distribution helps reveal the shape of the data before summary statistics are relied on.
Real-World Application
An appraiser lists 15 neighborhood sales from lowest to highest price. The array shows a cluster between $300,000 and $340,000 and one sale at $510,000, which the appraiser investigates before choosing comparables.
More Statistics Questions
Sale prices are $270,000, $290,000, $300,000, $310,000, $330,000. Treat the listed observations as the complete population and divide by n when computing the standard deviation. Report to the nearest dollar.
A sales sampling frame systematically excludes a relevant part of the target market. What is the principal risk?
An appraiser estimates a market-wide price trend using only sales data from one brokerage that specializes in luxury homes, without checking how other segments are represented. What is the principal concern?
Compared with analyzing one matched sale pair for one feature, what can a suitably specified multiple regression do?
The base-period median sale price is $400,000 and the current-period median is $460,000. Compute the price relative defined as current ÷ base, as a decimal to three places.
The assessment-to-sale ratios are 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.92, 0.95, 0.98, 1.02, 1.05, 1.08, 1.1, 1.15, 1.2. Calculate COD as [average absolute deviation from the median ÷ median]×100. For even n, average the two middle ratios. Report the COD as a percentage to two decimals.
Assessment-to-sale ratios are 0.94, 0.96, 0.98, 1, 1.01. Compute the arithmetic mean. Report as a decimal ratio to three places.
Market data show a first quartile sale price of $405,000 and a third quartile sale price of $495,000. What is the interquartile range, to the nearest dollar?
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Given first quartile $400,000, median $440,000 and third quartile $500,000, compute the trimean (Q1+2×median+Q3)/4. Report to the nearest dollar.
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