If a distribution has a long tail to the right, what is its skew direction?

If a distribution has a long tail to the right, what is its skew direction?

• A. Positive skew
• B. Negative skew
• C. No skew
• D. Bilateral skew

Answer: (A)

The main idea is how skew direction relates to the tail of the distribution. A long tail to the right means the bulk of the data are on the left with a few very high values pulling the right side outward, which is described as positive skew. In a positively skewed shape, the mean tends to be higher than the median, which tends to be higher than the mode. If the tail were longer on the left, it would be negative skew; a perfectly symmetric distribution has no skew. Bilateral skew isn’t a standard term.

The main idea is how skew direction relates to the tail of the distribution. A long tail to the right means the bulk of the data are on the left with a few very high values pulling the right side outward, which is described as positive skew. In a positively skewed shape, the mean tends to be higher than the median, which tends to be higher than the mode. If the tail were longer on the left, it would be negative skew; a perfectly symmetric distribution has no skew. Bilateral skew isn’t a standard term.