Which of the following would be less affected by outliers?

The median is the value that separates the higher half from the lower half of a data set when the values are arranged in order. Because it is determined by the position of values rather than their magnitude, the median remains much more stable in the presence of outliers. For instance, if you have a data set where most values are clustered closely together, the median will reflect the center of that cluster, even if one or two values are significantly higher or lower.

In contrast, the mean, which is the average of all values, can be heavily influenced by extreme values. If an outlier is introduced, it can skew the mean significantly, pulling it towards the outlier and giving a distorted view of the data's central tendency. The mode, while less affected than the mean, can still change if the outlier is part of the most frequently occurring values. The range, defined as the difference between the highest and lowest values, is significantly impacted by outliers since those extreme values directly define the limits of the data set.

Thus, the median, as the central value derived from ordered data, provides a robust measure of central tendency that is less susceptible to the effects of extreme values or outliers in the dataset.