Here are the maths-quiz scores for five people in a group: 3, 5, 7, 7 and 8.
If somebody asked you "how did that group do?" and you could only give them one number to describe the whole group, what number would you pick? Would you pick the biggest? The middle one? Something in between?
Here are three dot plots. Every dot is one person's score, sitting above its value on the line. Watch how the mean and median lines sit in each picture, sometimes together and sometimes a little apart.
Today we work through these sets together, in this order: 4, 6, 6, 8, then 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, then 2, 3, 3, 4, 8.
For each one we will line the dots up on the plot, then find the mean, the median, the mode and the range. The last set has a high value at the end, so we will look once more at where the mean and the median land, and predict which one is further out.
In your maths copy, work out all four statistics for this data set. Label each one so you have a clear four-line summary:
Here is the set — the number of books each person read this month: 2, 3, 3, 4, 8.
Remember to line the numbers up in order before you pick out the median.
Now we take turns at the board. For each set, work out the measure named, then use Check to confirm it before we move on.
We work these in order. First, find the median of 3, 5, 8. Next, find the mean of 4, 4, 7, 9. Then find the range of 2, 6, 6, 11. After that, find the mode of 5, 7, 7, 7, 9. Last, find the mean of the goals scored by the class team over four matches: 1, 2, 2, 15. Watch what the 15 does to that average.
You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.