Question: Do you like to eat tuna? Many people do. Unfortunately, some of the tuna that people eat may contain high levels of mercury. Exposure to mercury can be especially hazardous for pregnant women and small children. How much mercury is safe to consume? The Food and Drug Administration will take action (like removing the product from store shelves) if the mercury concentration in a six-ounce can of tuna is 1.00 ppm (parts per million) or higher.
What is the typical mercury concentration in cans of tuna sold in stores? A study conducted by Defenders of Wildlife set out to answer this question. Defenders collected a sample of 164 cans of tuna from stores across the United States. They sent the selected cans to a laboratory that is often used by the Environmental Protection Agency for mercury testing.
Mercury in tuna A histogram and some computer output provide information about the mercury concentration in the sampled cans (in parts per million, ppm).
(a) Interpret the standard deviation in context.
(b) Determine whether there are any outliers.
(c) Describe the shape, center, and spread of the distribution.