Mean, Median, Mode, Range
In order for the children to be proficient in the area of data analysis they must understand and apply their knowledge to everyday situations. The concept of Central Tendency will play an important role in the new Core Curriculum our district has adopted. The main thrust of looking at data is the clear understanding of the terms: mean, median, mode and range. For this exercise in data gathering they will be following the weather and tracking the high and low temperatures for each week they are in school. Each Friday, when they take a weekly quiz, they will also calculate the high or low temperatures........ the high or low mean temperature, the high or low median temperature, the mode of the temperature and the range of the temperature. Examples will be on this web page. Please utilize these notes if your child "forgets" the meaning of each word and if they need clarification of the process.
mean=the sum of the digits divided by the number of digits. i.e. 3+2+4+6+5 = 20 / 5= 4 the mean is = to 4
median= middle number in a series of numbers listed from least to greatest. 2,3,4,5,6 the median is = to 4
If looking at 6 digits such as 2,2,3,4,5,6 you would add the 2 middle digits and divide by 2 so 3+4 = 7/2 = 3.5
mode= digit occurring most often in a number series such as...2,2,3,4,5,6,6,7 there are two modes 2 and 6 because both occur most often. If no numbers are the same then there is no mode
range= subtract the smallest number from the largest number as in 7-2= 5 the range between this series of numbers = 5
mean=the sum of the digits divided by the number of digits. i.e. 3+2+4+6+5 = 20 / 5= 4 the mean is = to 4
median= middle number in a series of numbers listed from least to greatest. 2,3,4,5,6 the median is = to 4
If looking at 6 digits such as 2,2,3,4,5,6 you would add the 2 middle digits and divide by 2 so 3+4 = 7/2 = 3.5
mode= digit occurring most often in a number series such as...2,2,3,4,5,6,6,7 there are two modes 2 and 6 because both occur most often. If no numbers are the same then there is no mode
range= subtract the smallest number from the largest number as in 7-2= 5 the range between this series of numbers = 5