Mean, Median, and Mode
When we have a group of numbers, we often want to find a single number that tells us something about the whole group. These special numbers are called measures of central tendency, and they help us understand what is typical in our data.
Mean (Average)
The mean is what most people call the average. To find the mean:
- Add up all the numbers.
- Divide by how many numbers there are.
\( \text{Mean} = \frac{\text{Sum of all values}}{\text{Number of values}} \)
Think of it as the "fair share" amount — what everyone would get if everything were shared equally.
Median (Middle Value)
The median is the middle number when all values are arranged in order from smallest to largest.
- If there is an odd number of values, the median is the single middle value.
- If there is an even number of values, the median is the average of the two middle values.
The median splits the data set exactly in half.
Mode (Most Frequent)
The mode is the number that appears most often in a set of data.
- A data set can have more than one mode if multiple values tie for the highest frequency.
- A data set might have no mode if every value appears the same number of times.
The mode tells us the most popular value.