Overview

In this section, you will learn how to calculate a mean (also known as average) median, and mode.

Directions

Read about the concept of mean, or average, median, and mode.
Watch the videos on applying the mathematical procedure to calculate mean, median, and mode

Read

What Is a Mean?

The mean is a method of calculating the middle value of a set of numbers. It is also called the average. To find the mean, follow these two steps:

Step 1: Add the numbers.

Step 2: Divide by how many numbers you added.

Example: What is the mean of 6, 11, and 7?

Add the numbers: 6 + 11 + 7 = 24
Divide by how many numbers there are (3): 24 ⁄3 = 8

Watch

The following video demonstrates how to find a mean, or an average:

Finding the mean (average) [1:07]Source: Project IDEA, licensed under CC-BY . . .

Read

What is Median?

The median is the number in the middle of a set of numbers. To find the median, follow these two steps.

Step 1: Place the numbers in order from least to greatest.

Step 2: Cross off numbers from both ends until you are left with 1 number.

Example: What is the median of 6, 11, and 7?

1. Place the numbers in order: 6, 7, 11

2. Cross off 6, and cross off 11. The remaining number 7 is the median.

Note that in even number sets such as 6, 7, 11, and 12 the median is found by taking the average of the two middlemost numbers. In this case, 7 and 11. The median of 6, 7, 11, and 12 is 9.

What is Mode?

The mode is the number of numbers that occur most frequently. If no number occurs more than once, there is no mode.

Watch

Basic Arithmetic- Mean, Median, Mode [3.45]

Finding the Mean (Average) by I-DEA is licensed under CC BY 4.0 US
SWL8E1:Basic Arithmetic - Mean, Median, Mode by Donna Gaudet is licensed under CC BY 4.0 US