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34 votes
34 votes
Find the median of the set of data.
3, 3.9, 3.7, 3.1, 3.3 3.6, 3.5, 3.8

User Liton
by
2.8k points

2 Answers

24 votes
24 votes
The median of the set of data is 3.6
User Aashish Upadhyay
by
3.0k points
14 votes
14 votes

Answer: 3.7

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Step-by-step explanation:

The original data set is {3, 3.9, 3.7, 3.1, 3.3 3.6, 3.5, 3.8}

Those values sort to {3, 3.1, 3.5, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 11.88}

There are n = 7 items in the list.

The median will be found in slot 4 because n/2 = 7/2 = 3.5 which rounds to 4.

{3, 3.1, 3.5, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 11.88}

Notice how the underlined item in bold (3.7) is in slot 4.

We have three items below the median and three items above the median. That gives n = 3+1+3 = 7 items total.

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Here's another way to find the median.

After sorting the values, cross off the first and last numbers

We go from

{3, 3.1, 3.5, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 11.88}

to

{3.1, 3.5, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9}

Then we repeat the step of crossing off the outermost numbers to get

{3.5, 3.7, 3.8}

Then once more to get

{3.7}

We end up with exactly one value, so this is the middle-most item aka the median.

User Mvbrakel
by
3.0k points