Skip to content
Skip to main content

About this free course

Download this course

Share this free course

Everyday maths 2
Everyday maths 2

Start this free course now. Just create an account and sign in. Enrol and complete the course for a free statement of participation or digital badge if available.

6.6 Median

The last type of average you will look at briefly is called the median. Put very simply, the median is the middle number in a set of data. The only thing you need to remember is to put the numbers in size order, smallest to largest, before you begin. As this is such a simple process let’s just look at two examples.

Example: Finding the median 1

Find the median of this data set:

Method

  • 5, 10, 8, 12, 4, 7, 10

Firstly, order the numbers from smallest to largest:

  • 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 10, 12

Now, find the number that is in the middle:

  • 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 10, 12

8 is the number in the middle, so the median is 8.

Example: Finding the median 2

Find the median of this data set:

Method

  • 24, 30, 28, 40, 35, 20, 49, 38

Again, you firstly need to order the numbers:

  • 20, 24, 28, 30, 35, 38, 40, 49

And then find the one in the middle:

  • 20, 24, 28, 30, 35, 38, 40, 49

In this example there are actually two numbers that are in the middle, you therefore find the middle of these two numbers by adding them together and then halving the answer:

  • (30 + 35) ÷ 2 = 32.5

The median for this set of data is 32.5.

If you want to see some more examples, or try some for yourself, use the link below:

Well done! You have now learned all you need to know about mean, median and range. The final part of this section, before the end-of-session quiz, looks at probability.

Summary

In this section you have learned:

  • that there are different types of averages that can be used when working with a set of data – range, mean, median and mode
  • range is the difference between the largest data value and the smallest data value and is useful for comparing how consistently someone or something performs
  • mean is what is commonly referred to when talking about the average of a data set
  • how to find the mean from both a single data set and also a set of grouped data
  • formulas and inverse operations to calculate missing data when given the mean of a data set
  • what the median of a data set is and how to find it for a given set of data.