The mean is the mathematical average. The median is the middle value. The mode is the most repeated value. The range is the difference between the greatest and least value.
Mean: 26.3 Median: 26 Mode: 23and25and29 Range: 9
Practice makes perfect
We want to find the mean, median, mode, and range of the following data set.
23, 31, 26, 27, 25, 28, 23, 23, 25, 29, 29, 29, 25, 22, 30
Mean
The mean of a data set is the sum of the values divided by the total number of values in the set. Let's start by calculating the sum of the given values.
25+31+26+27+25+28+23+23
25+29+29+29+25+22+30
= 395
There are 15 values in our set, so we have to divide the sum by 15.
Mean: 395/15=26.333333...
We can approximate the mean to the nearest tenth.
Mean: 395/15≈ 26.3
Median
When the data are arranged in numerical order, the median is the middle value — or the mean of the two middle values — in a set of data. Let's arrange the given values and find the median.
22, 23, 23, 23, 25, 25, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 29, 29, 30, 31
The median of this set is 26.
Mode
The mode is the value or values that appear most often in a set of data.
Let's find the mode of the given values.
22, 23, 23, 23, 25, 25, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 29, 29, 30, 31
Since the data set has three values that appear more often than the other values but equally as often as each other, there are three modes.
Mode: 23and 25and 29
Range
The range is the difference between the greatest and least values in a set of data.
22, 23, 23, 23, 25, 25, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 29, 29, 30, 31
For our exercise, the greatest value is 31 and the least value is 22.
Range: 31-22=9
