In a distribution with negative skew, which tail is longer?

In a distribution with negative skew, which tail is longer?

• A. Left tail is shorter.
• B. Right tail is longer.
• C. Left tail is longer.
• D. Both tails are equally long.

Answer: (C)

The main concept is skewness direction: the long tail points to where the extreme values lie. In a negatively skewed distribution, the left tail is longer because a few unusually small values stretch the distribution to the left while most data cluster on the higher end. This makes the bulk of the data sit toward the right, and the mean is pulled toward those leftward extreme values, typically placing it below the median. So the left tail is the longer one in negative skew.

The main concept is skewness direction: the long tail points to where the extreme values lie. In a negatively skewed distribution, the left tail is longer because a few unusually small values stretch the distribution to the left while most data cluster on the higher end. This makes the bulk of the data sit toward the right, and the mean is pulled toward those leftward extreme values, typically placing it below the median. So the left tail is the longer one in negative skew.