In a data set with an odd amount of numbers, the median will always have the same amount of numbers on either side of it. For the data set 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, the median number, 3, has 2 numbers before it and 2 numbers after it. That’s how we can be sure that it’s our median. What if the data set you’re working with has an even amount of numbers? What if you had to find the median of 2, 4, 4, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15? You find the median here by taking the two middle numbers and finding their average. In our example, you would take 7 and 9 — the two middle numbers — add them up and divide them by 2. 7 + 9 equals 16, and 16 divided by 2 equals 8. The median of this data set would be 8.

In a data set with an odd amount of numbers, the median will always have the same amount of numbers on either side of it. For the data set 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, the median number, 3, has 2 numbers before it and 2 numbers after it. That’s how we can be sure that it’s our median. What if the data set you’re working with has an even amount of numbers? What if you had to find the median of 2, 4, 4, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15? You find the median here by taking the two middle numbers and finding their average. In our example, you would take 7 and 9 — the two middle numbers — add them up and divide them by 2. 7 + 9 equals 16, and 16 divided by 2 equals 8. The median of this data set would be 8.