The Median
The median is the middle number of a set of data, or the average of the two middle numbers (if there are an even number of data points).
Example 1:
Find the median of the data set
0.3, 6.2, 1.5, 0.7, 5.1, 2.3, 3.0.
The first job is to put the data in order from least to greatest.
0.3, 0.7, 1.5, 2.3, 3.0, 5.1, 6.2
Now count: there are seven data points. So the median is the middle one, the fourth number:
2.3
Example 2:
Find the median of the data set
71, 93, 50, 82, 12, 16, 55, 58.
Put the data in order from least to greatest.
12, 16, 50, 55, 58, 71, 82, 93
Now count: there are eight data points. The middle two are 55 and 58, the fourth and fifth numbers.
So, the median is the average of these two numbers.
= 56.5
