A SHORT GUIDE

What an average can tell you.

The mean adds every value and divides by the number of values. The median is the middle value when the data is sorted.

LET’S BREAK IT DOWN

Start with an example.

For 2, 3, 4, 5 and 36, the mean is 10 while the median is 4. The large final value pulls the mean up but does not move the middle value.

KEEP IN MINDNeither measure is always better. Use the mean when the full numerical total is relevant; use the median when the middle observation better describes a skewed list.

Try another set of numbers and compare your answer with the worked result.

Try the mean and median calculator ↗