“Mean” and “median” are statistical terms that describe different measures of central tendency in a data set. Understanding the difference between them is important in mathematics, statistics, and data analysis.
Mean
Definition:
The mean is the sum of all the numbers in a set divided by the total number of figures in that set. It is commonly referred to as the “average.”
Examples of use:
The arithmetic mean of 1, 5, and 6 is calculated by adding the numbers together (1 + 5 + 6 = 12) and then dividing by the number of figures (3), resulting in a mean of 4.
To find the mean score of a class on a test, add all the students’ scores and divide by the total number of students.
In financial analysis, the mean is often used to determine the average return on an investment over a specified period.
Median
Definition:
The median is the middle number in a sorted, ascending, or descending list of numbers. To find the median, the numbers must be ordered, and the figure with the same number of figures above and below it is the median.
Examples of use:
The median of 12, 19, 23, 45, and 60 is 23. When these numbers are arranged in order, 23 is the middle number, with two numbers above and two below.
If a data set has an even number of observations, the median is the average of the two middle numbers. For example, in the set {4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42}, the median is (15 + 16) รท 2 = 15.5.
The median is often used in real estate to find the middle value of home prices in a particular area, as it is less affected by extremely high or low values compared to the mean.
The “mean” provides the arithmetic average of a set of numbers, while the “median” identifies the middle point of a data set when it is ordered. Both are valuable statistical tools, but they offer different insights into the distribution of data. The mean is sensitive to outliers, while the median provides a better measure of central tendency when a data set has extreme values.
