Final answer:
The median is the value that lies in the middle of a data set when sorted in ascending order, dividing the data set into two equal halves. It is less affected by outliers as compared to the mean, making it a reliable measure of central tendency when extreme values are present.
Step-by-step explanation:
The arithmetic value that occurs in the middle of a data set when organized from lowest to highest, where half the values are less than and half the values are greater than, is known as the median. The median is a measure that is used to indicate the center of a set of data. Specifically, when the data is arranged in ascending order, if there is an odd number of observations, then the median is the middle value. If there is an even number of values, the median is the average of the two middle values.
Unlike the mean, which is the average of all the data points, the median is less affected by extremely high or low values, known as outliers. Therefore, the median is often regarded as a more representative measure of central tendency when outliers are present in the data set. The mode is the value that appears most frequently within a set, and the range is the difference between the highest and lowest values in the set.
To find the median in a data set, you first arrange the data points from the smallest to largest. If there is an odd number of data points, the median is simply the middle number. If there's an even number, you take the average of the two central numbers. For example, in the set 1, 3, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, the median is 6. If the set is 1, 3, 3, 6, 7, 8, the median would be the average of 3 and 6, which is 4.5.
The student's question relates to the concept of median (C), rather than the mean (A), mode (B), or range (D).