Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The Chi-square ($\chi^2$) distribution is a continuous probability distribution defined by its degrees of freedom parameter.
Key Formula or Approach:
For a Chi-square random variable $Y$ with $k$ degrees of freedom:
\[ \text{Mean}(Y) = k \]
\[ \text{Variance}(Y) = 2k \]
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
We are given:
Degrees of freedom, $k = 16$
Using the fundamental property of the Chi-square distribution, the mean is equal to the degrees of freedom:
\[ \text{Mean}(Y) = 16 \]
Therefore, the mean of the distribution is 16.
Step 3: Final Answer
The correct option is (A).