Question

Of the 17 students in a programming class, 6 own 1 computer, 3 own 2 computers, 3 own 3 computers, 2 own 4 computers, and 3 own 5 computers. What is the median number of computers owned by the 17 students?

A) 2
B) 2.5
C) 3
D) 3.5

Answer 1

The median of the number of computers owned by the 17 students in the programming class is 2.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the median number of computers owned by the students, we need to first list all the numbers in ascending order and then find the middle number. Since there are 17 students, the median will be the 9th number in this ordered list.

• 1 computer: 6 students
• 2 computers: 3 students
• 3 computers: 3 students
• 4 computers: 2 students
• 5 computers: 3 students

Ordering the data, we get:

1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5

The 9th number in this list is 2, which is the median. Therefore, the median number of computers owned by the students is 2.