How to find the mean, mode and median in statistics
Stuck on how to find the mean, mode and median in statistics? This article will help you find all three in a few simple steps!
- Step 1: Put the numbers in order so that you can clearly see patterns.
For example, lets say we have 2, 19, 44, 44, 44, 51, 56, 78, 86, 99, 99. The mode is the number that appears the most often. In this case: 44, which appears three times. - Step 2: Add the numbers up to get a total.
Example: 2 +19 + 44 + 44 +44 + 51 + 56 + 78 + 86 + 99 + 99 = 622. Set this number aside for a moment. - Step 3: Count the amount of numbers in the series.
In our example (2, 19, 44, 44, 44, 51, 56, 78, 86, 99, 99), we have 11 numbers. - Step 4: Divide the number you found in step 2 by the number you found in step 3.
In our example: 622 / 11 = 56.5454545. This is the mean, sometimes called the average.
If you had an odd number in step 3, go to step 5. If you had an even number, go to step 6.
- Step 5: Find the number in the middle of the series.
This is the median. 2, 19, 44, 44, 44, 51,56, 78, 86, 99, 99. - Step 6: Find the middle two numbers.
For example, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 15, 16, 17. The median is the number that comes in the middle of those middle two numbers (7 and 8), so that number would be 7.5 in this case. (To do this mathematically, add the two numbers together and divide by 2).
Tip: You can have more than one mode. For example, the mode of 1, 1, 5, 5, 6, 6 is 1, 5, and 6.
Related posts:
- How to Find the Mean, Median, and Mode on the TI-89 Calculator
- How to find an interquartile range in statistics
How to find an interquartile range in statistics « How to Do Everything Statistics said:
Aug 22, 09 at 7:55 am[...] 2: Find the median (How to find a median) [...]
How to find a five number summary in statistics « How to Do Everything Statistics said:
Aug 22, 09 at 8:01 am[...] Step 3: Find the median (how to find a median). [...]
Lisa Barcomb said:
Sep 10, 09 at 3:30 pmI found this article regarding the mode, mean, and median very helpful. It really makes me understand everything now in short and sweet steps. It really breaks everything down for you, so if you get stuck somewhere you know where you got caught up.
Evelyn Snyder said:
Sep 12, 09 at 8:00 amAfter reading the material in our textbook, this site really put it in perspective and made it easier to comprehend on how to find the mean, median and the mode.
To find the mean, median and/or mode depends if your set of numbers were even or odd. The step-by-step guide is very helpful.
Thanks
Hilary Dickert said:
Sep 13, 09 at 3:19 pmYour easy step system is one that my mother showed me just recently! I’ve used it to determine my grades during mid-semester as well as my GPA at the end of a semester, before grades are posted. Having your guide makes this very easy and I’ve printed it out for referral purposes. Thanks!
Colin Tully said:
Sep 13, 09 at 7:37 pmI found this information to be very helpful in understanding these concepts once again. I did all of this a long time ago in my early years of math, but i forget the main ideas over the years. Using a combination if the text book and other supplementary websites i really seem to understand the data a lot more!!! THANKS
Ashanti Jones said:
Sep 16, 09 at 4:04 pmI think that this information is very helpful. It is definitely more helpful than the text I purchased for my STA course.
Jennifer Thomas said:
Sep 20, 09 at 12:26 pmThis was helfpul. I wasn’t sure how to calculate the median when it came to even numbers so this clarified things for me. Thanks!
How to Do Everything Statistics » How to Construct a Confidence Interval From Data Using the t-Distribution said:
Oct 09, 09 at 5:59 am[...] 1: Find the mean and standard deviation for the data. Mean=71, Standard Deviation: [...]
Lisa Barcomb said:
Nov 01, 09 at 8:04 pmThis part of the book is easy and helpful it allows you to find whatever you need to in a break down session so you will be able to understand how to do the problems that are involved in this subject.
Vanessa DuBarry said:
Nov 20, 09 at 4:47 pmthis was really helpful for ch 8, I like this website way better than the book.
How to Do Everything Statistics » How to Support or Reject a Null Hypothesis (Using a P-Value) said:
Jan 02, 10 at 12:46 pm[...] 5: Find the mean (X) and standard deviation (s) for the [...]
crystal lydick said:
Jan 24, 10 at 3:35 pmI found this blog really helpful to me. It is kinda funny because I never knew what any of these words meant until several weeks ago. My little boy is in 4th grade and in his homework, he had to tell what these words meant. I had no idea what they meant. I felt so bad, but we had to look them up. I wish I had already started statistics, because I would have know what to tell him. I really love how everything is broken down, makes it so much easier for me to understand.
Joni Poore said:
Jan 24, 10 at 7:53 pmThis site is amazing, I know mean, median and mode is basic but since this is the first step I looked at – I’m even more excited about possibly getting extra credit and getting things learned through a different perspective
Stephanie said:
Jan 25, 10 at 7:52 amThanks, I’m glad you like the site!
Stephanie
Stephanie said:
Jan 25, 10 at 7:53 am4th grade is getting more challenging. I don’t remember learning mean and mode back in the day :)
I’m glad the site is helping though,
Stephanie
AprilS said:
Aug 03, 10 at 10:27 amThis is a really easy way to calculate all of these! I just published a blog/video post on the same thing, but I really like your method!
http://blog.thinkwell.com/2010/08/7th-grade-math-mean-median-mode-and-range.html
awin said:
Nov 13, 11 at 7:14 pmhow to find mode of grouped data…. i’m confused on it. Need your help.
Statistics How To» Blog Archive » How to Support or Reject a Null Hypothesis said:
Jan 03, 12 at 12:29 pm[...] 5: Find the mean () and standard deviation (s) for the [...]
john said:
Jan 05, 12 at 7:10 amnice