| Mean, median, and mode | |
|---|---|
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| Description | |
| Exercise Name: | Mean, median, and mode |
| Math Missions: | High school statistics and probability Math Mission |
| Types of Problems: | 3 |
The Mean, median, and mode exercise appears under the High school statistics and probability Math Mission. This exercise introduces and practices the calculation of the measurements of center.
Types of Problems[]
There are three types of problems in this exercise:
- Find the mean: This problem provides a collection of data points and asks the user to calculate the arithmetic mean of the data set.
Find the mean
- Find the median: This problem provides a collection of data and asks users to calculate the median of the data set.
Find the median
- Find the mode: This problem provides a set of numbers and asks the user to find the mode of the data set.
Find the mode
Strategies[]
This exercise is easy to get accuracy badges because mean, median and mode are easy to find when the user knows what they are. The speed badges are medium because mean and mode are fast but median can take a few seconds to order.
- The arithmetic mean is what many people think of when they hear "average." Add them up, and divide by how many there are.
- The median is the number in the middle of an ordered data set. Make sure the data is in order before users try to get the middle number.
- Most of the data sets for median seemed to have an odd number of elements. If there are an even number, take the average of the middle two values.
- The mode is the "fashionable," or most common data point. It's possible for a data set to be bi-modal (two modes), multi-modal (many modes) or have no mode. Though, on a test, a teacher would generally only give one mode.
Real-life Applications[]
- Businesses can use mean, median, and mode to calculate how much money they make.
- Fashion is generally an answer to the question, "What is the mode?" e.g. "What's the most popular sneaker?" or "What shirt style would most people prefer to wear?"
- Data and statistics appear in news reports and in the media every day.
- Statistics can be seen more frequently than calculus in every day life.