How to Find the Median Value
It's the middle number in a sorted list.
Median Value
The Median is the "middle number" (in a sorted list of numbers).
How to Find the Median Value
To find the Median, place the numbers you are given in value order and find the middle number.
Example: find the Median of {12, 3 and 5}
Put them in order:
3, 5, 12
The middle number is 5, so the median is 5.
Example 2
Look at these numbers:
3, 13, 7, 5, 21, 23, 39, 23, 40, 23, 14, 12, 56, 23, 29
If we put those numbers in order we have:
3, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 21, 23, 23, 23, 23, 29, 39, 40, 56
There are fifteen numbers. Our middle number will be the eighth number:
3, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 21, 23, 23, 23, 23, 29, 39, 40, 56
The median value of this set of numbers is 23.
(Note that it didn't matter if we had some numbers the same in the list)
Two Numbers in the Middle
BUT, if there are an even amount of numbers things are slightly different.
In that case we need to find the middle pair of numbers, and then find the value that would be half way between them. This is easily done by adding them together and dividing by two.
An example will help:
In that case we need to find the middle pair of numbers, and then find the value that would be half way between them. This is easily done by adding them together and dividing by two.
An example will help:
3, 13, 7, 5, 21, 23, 23, 40, 23, 14, 12, 56, 23, 29
If we put those numbers in order we have:
3, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 21, 23, 23, 23, 23, 29, 40, 56
There are now fourteen numbers and so we don't have just one middle number, we have a pair of middle numbers:
3, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 21, 23, 23, 23, 23, 29, 40, 56
In this example the middle numbers are 21 and 23.
To find the value half-way between them, add them together and divide by 2:
21 + 23 = 44
44 ÷ 2 = 22
44 ÷ 2 = 22
And, so, the Median in this example is 22.
(Note that 22 was not in the list of numbers ... but that is OK, because half the numbers in the list are less, and half the numbers are greater.)
Which is the Middle Number?
A quick way to know which is the middle number: count how many numbers, add 1 then divide by 2
Example: There are 45 numbers
45 plus 1 is 46, then divide by 2 and you get 23
So the median is the 23rd number in the sorted list.
Example: There are 66 numbers
66 plus 1 is 67, then divide by 2 and you get 33.5
33 and a half? That means that the 33rd and 34th numbers in the sorted list are the two middle numbers.
So to find the median: add the 33rd and 34th numbers together and divide by 2.