Real-Life Math
Your company has come up with a concept for a new chocolate. Peanut
Butter Raspberry Truffles are scheduled to go to market as soon as they pass
sensory evaluation. You have been given the task of heading the consumer acceptability
panels. The panel consists of 25 people, each with a different background,
race and preference.
First, your consumer testers are given samples
of the new chocolate and asked to rate its flavor as either excellent, good,
fair, poor or awful. Each of the ratings is given a numeric value:
Excellent
= 10, good = 8, fair = 6, poor = 4, awful = 2
If
your average consumer rating of the product is between 8 and 10, then you
can approve the product to move forward to the next test required for approval.
If
your consumers rate the new chocolate less than 8, then you will have to send
the chocolate, along with suggestions for improvement, back to the development
group.
The members of your panel are excited about the taste test,
so you jump right into it. They rate the chocolate as follows:
9
consumers rate it as excellent
10 consumers rate it as good
2 consumers
rate it as fair
2 consumer rates it as poor
2 consumers
rate it as awful
Looking at these results, you think
most of the consumers found it to be excellent or good (that is, they gave
it a rating of at least 8), so you can move on to the next set of tests. Or
can you? Figure out the average consumer rating.