The median of a list of data is the middle item in that data when it has been arranged in order of size.
If the list contains an even quantity of data, then the median is the mean average of the middle two values.
For example
the median of the five numbers 3,8,12,13,19 is 12
the median of the five numbers 6,2,9,1,3 is 3 not 9.
the median of the size numbers 1,4,7,9,10,16 is 8, being the mean average of the two middle numbers 7 and 9.
If the list contains an even quantity of data, then the median is the mean average of the middle two values.
For example
the median of the five numbers 3,8,12,13,19 is 12
the median of the five numbers 6,2,9,1,3 is 3 not 9.
the median of the size numbers 1,4,7,9,10,16 is 8, being the mean average of the two middle numbers 7 and 9.
Software/Applets used on this page
Glossary
mean
the sum of all the members of the list divided by the number of items in the list.
median
the middle value of a set of data that has been arranged in order of magnitude; half the data values are above it and half are below.
union
The union of two sets A and B is the set containing all the elements of A and B.
This question appears in the following syllabi:
Syllabus | Module | Section | Topic | Exam Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
AQA GCSE (9-1) Foundation (UK) | S: Statistics | S4: Interpreting Data Representations | Central Tendency - Median | - |
CBSE IX (India) | Statistics | Measures | Mean, median and mode ungrouped data | - |
CBSE X (India) | Statistics and Probability | Statistics | Mean, median and mode grouped data | - |
CIE IGCSE (9-1) Maths (0626 UK) | 9 Statistics | C9.5 Central Tendency and Dispersion | Central Tendency - Median | - |
Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Foundation (UK) | S: Statistics | S4: Interpreting Data Representations | Central Tendency - Median | - |
GCSE Foundation (UK) | Statistics | Measures | The median | - |
OCR GCSE (9-1) Foundation (UK) | 12: Statistics | 12.03a: Summary Statistics | Central Tendency - Median | - |
Universal (all site questions) | M | Measures | The median | - |