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Mean, Median, Mode, Range
About the Mean, Median, Mode, Range
Enter a list of numbers to get the mean, median, mode and range in one step.
How to use the Mean, Median, Mode, Range
- Type or paste your numbers into Data Set, separated by commas.
- Press Calculate.
Formula and method
Mean = sum ÷ count. Median = the middle value of the sorted list (or the average of the two middle values). Mode = the most frequent value. Range = maximum − minimum.
Worked example
For 5, 2, 8, 2, 10, 5: sorted 2, 2, 5, 5, 8, 10. Mean = 32 ÷ 6 ≈ 5.33, median = (5 + 5) ÷ 2 = 5, modes = 2 and 5 and range = 8.
When to use the Mean, Median, Mode, Range
- Describing the centre of any list of numbers in three different ways.
- Checking whether data is skewed by comparing the mean and the median.
- Doing statistics homework.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Forgetting to sort the numbers before finding the median.
- Reporting a mode when no value repeats.
Tips
- The median is better than the mean when your data has extreme outliers.
- A data set can have no mode, one mode or several modes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use the mean for evenly spread data, the median for skewed data such as incomes and the mode for the most common category.
When there are extreme values, such as a few very high salaries. The median is not pulled by them.
Yes. It is then called bimodal.