To determine the mode of a dataset, we need to find the value that appears most frequently. Here's a step-by-step approach to solving this problem:
1. List the ages of the U.S. Presidents when they began their terms:
57, 61, 50, 54, 54, 54, 56, 54,
61, 54, 48, 49, 42, 51, 61,
57, 68, 65, 50, 51, 60, 52,
57, 51, 52, 47, 56, 62, 69,
58, 49, 56, 55, 55, 43, 64,
57, 64, 46, 55, 51, 55, 46
2. Count the frequency of each age:
- Age 57 appears 4 times
- Age 61 appears 3 times
- Age 50 appears 2 times
- Age 54 appears 5 times
- Age 56 appears 3 times
- Age 48 appears 1 time
- Age 49 appears 2 times
- Age 42 appears 1 time
- Age 51 appears 4 times
- Age 68 appears 1 time
- Age 65 appears 1 time
- Age 60 appears 1 time
- Age 52 appears 2 times
- Age 47 appears 1 time
- Age 62 appears 1 time
- Age 69 appears 1 time
- Age 58 appears 1 time
- Age 55 appears 4 times
- Age 43 appears 1 time
- Age 64 appears 2 times
- Age 46 appears 2 times
3. Identify the age with the highest frequency:
- The age 54 appears the most frequently, with a count of 5 times.
Thus, the mode is the age that occurs most often, and in this dataset, it is 54.
Therefore, the best answer from the choices provided is:
b. 54