It may be easier to calculate the mean and median if the numbers are rearranged first.
Mean = 38.9
Median = 40
Practice makes perfect
The first thing that should be done when finding the key features of a data set is rearranging the numbers from least to greatest.
10, 31, 36, 36, 38, 42, 47, 48, 49, 52
Fortunately, we can see that the given set is already ordered this way. Let's proceed to finding the mean and median.
Mean
The mean of a data set is calculated by finding the sum of all values in the set and then dividing by the number of values in the set. In this case, there are 10 values in the set.
To identify the median, we observe the middle value.
10, 31, 36, 36, 38 | 42, 47, 48, 49, 52
Dangit! There is no middle value. When this happens, we need to calculate the median by finding the average of the two values closest to the middle. When arranged from least to greatest, 38 and 42 are the most central values.
Median
38+ 42/2=40
