Home > Professional Development Channel > Math Corner > "Explain That" Article

Explain…
Mean, Mode, and Median

Explain… Mean, Mode, and Median
Mean, median, and mode are three different kinds of averages.

Mean probably is the kind of average you’re most familiar with. Mean is the average of a group of numbers. To find the mean of your math test scores, for example, your teacher adds all your scores and then divides the answer by the number of math tests you took.

Median is another kind of average. Median is the middle number in a list of numbers that have been arranged in order. To find your median math test score, for example, your teacher would list all your math test scores in order from smallest to largest or from smallest to largest, and then find the number that appears in the middle of the list. (If two numbers share the middle of the list, the median is halfway between those two numbers.)

Mode is the third kind of average. Mode means the number that occurs most frequently. To find the mode of the your test scores, for example, your teacher would list all your math test scores in order from smallest to largest or from smallest to largest, and then find the number that appears on the list most frequently.

Mean, Mode, and Median Lesson Plans

• Candy Colors, Figuring the Mean, Median, Mode, and Range
• Finding the Mean, Median, and Mode
• Introduction to Descriptive Statistics: Mean, Median, and Mode
• Mean, Median, Mode, etc.
• Mean, Median, and Mode

Mean, Mode, and Median Worksheets

• All About Lakes, Rivers, and Fly Fishing Too
• Computing Mean, Mode, and Median
• Investigate Mean, Mode, and Median with Manipulatives
• M&M Candies
• Mean, Median, and Mode Worksheet

Mean, Mode, and Median Interactive Activities

• Mean, Median, and Mode
• Mean, Median, Mode, and Range
• Mean, Median, Mode, and Range
• Dr. Ufigure’s Simple Statistics Tutorial
• Train Race

Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2007 Education World

04/13/2007