Is there any formula for figuring out the median? TIA

It is not possible to create a formula for the median, because the median value depends on the position of the middle value of the set and the fact that it is an even or odd set of numbers. It can, however, be explained like this: _median (odd set of numbers)_ = ((n+1)/2)th term _median (even set of numbers)_ = ((n/2)th term + ((n/2)+1)th term)/2 Source: http://formulas.tutorvista.com/math/mean-median-mode-formula.html

Can you guys respond and upvote this?

sure no problem, but do you even see notifications for khan academy comments?

upvote if you like pizza.

Burgers vs pizza who will win!?

I have a problem with the "median" question. I've sorted and then chosen the answer but check failed. When I've opened the explanation, I've seen there exactly the same answer I've entered. It happened previously on some of practice pages.

i am a teacher and it says sort the data from least to greatest in the quextion you need to arrange the values first than solve the answer will be 8

Hey guys. Whenever I'm taking a test or quiz and I get asked for the mean, median, or mode I get confused and forget which is which. Does any one have a good way to memorize them? It would be greatly apreciated.

"Hey, diddle diddle, the median's the middle,/You add then divide for the mean./The mode is the one that you see the most,/And the range is the difference between." This is a poem that i found in google when i started to learn this topic. Just memorize this poem...

Can there be negative infinity?

Yep, you can just keep getting more and more negative.

What if there would be same number of repeated number exist in the list? for example set: 5,10,10,8,8,6,3,2. What is the mode of this set?

I believe you would list them both. So in your case, the modes would be 8 and 10 since they both occur at the same time. I hope this helps!

Main content

Statistics and probability

Course: Statistics and probability > Unit 3

Lesson 1: Measuring center in quantitative data

Mean, median, and mode review

Google Classroom

Mean, median, and mode

Mean, median, and mode are different measures of center in a numerical data set. They each try to summarize a dataset with a single number to represent a "typical" data point from the dataset.

Mean: The "average" number; found by adding all data points and dividing by the number of data points.

Example: The mean of

4

1

, and

7

(4 + 1 + 7) / 3 = 12 / 3 = 4

Median: The middle number; found by ordering all data points and picking out the one in the middle (or if there are two middle numbers, taking the mean of those two numbers).

Example: The median of

4

1

, and

7

4

because when the numbers are put in order

(1

4

7)

, the number

4

is in the middle.

Mode: The most frequent number—that is, the number that occurs the highest number of times.

Example: The mode of

{4

2

4

3

2

2}

2

because it occurs three times, which is more than any other number.

Want to learn more about mean, median, and mode? Check out the more in-depth examples below, or check out this video explanation.

Calculating the mean

There are many different types of mean, but usually when people say mean, they are talking about the arithmetic mean.

The arithmetic mean is the sum of all of the data points divided by the number of data points.

mean = \frac{sum of data}{# of data points}

Here's the same formula written more formally:

mean = \frac{\sum x_{i}}{n}

Example

Find the mean of this data:

1

2

4

5

Start by adding the data:

1 + 2 + 4 + 5 = 12

There are

4

data points.

mean = \frac{12}{4} = 3

The mean is $3$ ‍.

Practice problems

Problem A

What is the arithmetic mean of the following numbers?

10, 6, 4, 4, 6, 4, 1

mean =

Want to practice more of these? Check out this exercise on calculating the mean.

Finding the median

The median is the middle point in a dataset—half of the data points are smaller than the median and half of the data points are larger.

To find the median:

Arrange the data points from smallest to largest.
If the number of data points is odd, the median is the middle data point in the list.
If the number of data points is even, the median is the average of the two middle data points in the list.

Example 1

Find the median of this data:

1

4

2

5

0

Put the data in order first:

0

1

2

4

5

There is an odd number of data points, so the median is the middle data point.

0

1

2

4

5

The median is $2$ ‍.

Example 2

Find the median of this data:

10

40

20

50

Put the data in order first:

10

20

40

50

There is an even number of data points, so the median is the average of the middle two data points.

10

20

40

50

median = \frac{20 + 40}{2} = \frac{60}{2} = 30

The median is $30$ ‍.

Practice problems

Problem a

The following data points represent the number of points scored by each player on the Wildcats basketball team last game.

Sort the data from least to greatest.

Find the median number of points.

points

Want to practice more of these? Check out this exercise on calculating the median.

Finding the mode

The mode is the most commonly occurring data point in a dataset. The mode is useful when there are a lot of repeated values in a dataset. There can be no mode, one mode, or multiple modes in a dataset.

Example 1

Ms. Norris asked students in her class how many siblings they each had.

Find the mode of the data:

0

0

1

1

1

1

1

1

2

2

2

3

5

Look for the value that occurs the most:

0

0

1

1

1

1

1

1

2

2

2

3

5

The mode is $1$ ‍ sibling.

Example 2

Ms. Rubin asked students in her class how many siblings they each had.

Find the mode of the data:

0

0

0

1

1

1

1

2

2

2

2

4

Look for the value that occurs the most:

0

0

0

1

1

1

1

2

2

2

2

4

There is a tie for the value that occurs the most often.

The modes are $1$ ‍ and $2$ ‍ siblings.

Practice problem

What is the mode of the following numbers?

10, 6, 4, 4, 6, 4, 1

mode =

Want to practice more of these? Check out this exercise on mean, median, and mode.

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Chowdhury Amir Abdullah
Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to Chowdhury Amir Abdullah's post “Is there any formula for ...”
Is there any formula for figuring out the median? TIA
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Chowdhury Amir Abdullah's post “Is there any formula for ...”
(17 votes)
Answer
- HvZ91
  Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to HvZ91's post “It is not possible to cre...”
  It is not possible to create a formula for the median, because the median value depends on the position of the middle value of the set and the fact that it is an even or odd set of numbers.
  
  It can, however, be explained like this:
  median (odd set of numbers) = ((n+1)/2)th term
  median (even set of numbers) = ((n/2)th term + ((n/2)+1)th term)/2
  
  Source: http://formulas.tutorvista.com/math/mean-median-mode-formula.html
  Comment on HvZ91's post “It is not possible to cre...”
  (19 votes)
mjcastrm
Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to mjcastrm's post “I am having problems with...”
I am having problems with the median questions. I have sorted and then chosen the answer but check failed. When I've opened the explanation and hint, I've seen there exactly the same answer I have entered. It happened previously on some of practice pages. Please fix these issues so I can proceed with the lessons. Thanks!
Button navigates to signup pageComment on mjcastrm's post “I am having problems with...”
(17 votes)
Answer
- mvasquez0135
  Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to mvasquez0135's post “Yes ecause once you know ...”
  Yes ecause once you know w what's in the middle that would be you median
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  (0 votes)
Elina Maliarsky
Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to Elina Maliarsky's post “I have a problem with the...”
I have a problem with the "median" question. I've sorted and then chosen the answer but check failed. When I've opened the explanation, I've seen there exactly the same answer I've entered. It happened previously on some of practice pages.
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Elina Maliarsky's post “I have a problem with the...”
(13 votes)
Answer
- azfarfawwad
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to azfarfawwad's post “i am a teacher and it say...”
  i am a teacher and it says sort the data from least to greatest in the quextion you need to arrange the values first than solve the answer will be 8
  Comment on azfarfawwad's post “i am a teacher and it say...”
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Bryce Steuer
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Bryce Steuer's post “Hey guys. Whenever I'm ta...”
Hey guys. Whenever I'm taking a test or quiz and I get asked for the mean, median, or mode I get confused and forget which is which. Does any one have a good way to memorize them? It would be greatly apreciated.
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Bryce Steuer's post “Hey guys. Whenever I'm ta...”
(6 votes)
Answer
- Hemanth Kumar P
  Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Hemanth Kumar P's post “"Hey, diddle diddle, the ...”
  "Hey, diddle diddle, the median's the middle,/You add then divide for the mean./The mode is the one that you see the most,/And the range is the difference between." This is a poem that i found in google when i started to learn this topic. Just memorize this poem...
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King Birb
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Can you guys respond and upvote this?
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upvote if you like pizza.
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- Rafael Sultan
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  Burgers vs pizza who will win!?
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Prasannakumar CH
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Prasannakumar CH's post “What if there would be sa...”
What if there would be same number of repeated number exist in the list? for example set: 5,10,10,8,8,6,3,2. What is the mode of this set?
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Answer
- Popsquash7
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Popsquash7's post “I believe you would list ...”
  I believe you would list them both. So in your case, the modes would be 8 and 10 since they both occur at the same time. I hope this helps!
  Button navigates to signup page
  (6 votes)
bryce.raymer
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Can there be negative infinity?
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  Yep, you can just keep getting more and more negative.
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Any one is there
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- Ali Abdullah
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  mee brother :)
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Yul
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Yul's post “Why is it called Mean, Me...”
Why is it called Mean, Median, and Mode?
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- jhunjhunwalamadhav1234
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  because it can
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