What is the effect of outliers on K-means clustering?

Practice Questions

Q1
What is the effect of outliers on K-means clustering?
  1. They have no effect on the clustering results
  2. They can significantly distort the cluster centroids
  3. They improve the clustering accuracy
  4. They help in determining the number of clusters

Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions

What is the effect of outliers on K-means clustering?
Correct Answer: Outliers can distort cluster centroids.
  • Step 1: Understand what K-means clustering is. It groups data points into clusters based on their similarities.
  • Step 2: Know what outliers are. Outliers are data points that are very different from the rest of the data.
  • Step 3: Realize that K-means uses the average of data points in a cluster to find the center, called the centroid.
  • Step 4: Understand that if an outlier is present, it can pull the centroid away from the main group of data points.
  • Step 5: Recognize that this distortion can lead to clusters that do not accurately represent the data.
  • Step 6: Conclude that outliers can make K-means clustering results less reliable.
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