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Mean, Median, and Mode
Three different ways to describe the 'typical' or central value of a data set.
Three Kinds of Average
Three common averages answer different questions:
Median — put the values in order; pick the middle one (or average the two middle ones if there is an even count).
Mode — the value that appears most often.
Use ÷ when you write a mean as a one-line calculation, or a fraction bar when you want the division shown clearly.
| Mean, median, and mode | |
|---|---|
Example 1 — an odd number of values
Find the mean, median, and mode of: .
Mean
(or )
Median — order first: . With values, the 4th is the middle:
Mode — appears three times (more than any other value):
Answer: mean ≈ , median = , mode =
Example 2 — an even number of values
Find the mean and median of: .
Mean
(or )
Median — order: . Two middle values, so average them:
(or )
Answer: mean = , median = (no mode — every value appears once)
Example 3 — exam-style set of 11 scores
Scores: .
Mean
Median — ordered: . Middle (6th of ) = .
Mode — and each appear twice → bimodal: and .
Range = largest − smallest = .
Practice
Your answer
More lessons in Descriptive Statistics and Basic Probability · Next: Mean From a Frequency Table · Previous: Frequency Tables