What does mean median and mode mean in math

The mean is the average where the sum of all the numbers is divided by the total number of numbers, whereas the median is the middle value in the list of given numbers numerically ordered from smallest to biggest and mode is the value of the number which occurs most often in the list. You can learn more about it here:

  • Mean
  • Median
  • Mode

What are the differences between Mean, Median, and Mode?

These three terms are related to each other. There’s a relationship between mean, median and mode and is called an empirical relationship between them. Below are some of the most integral differences between the mean, median and mode.

Sl. No.MeanMedianMode1.The average taken for a set of numbers is called a mean.The middle value in the data set is called the Median.The number that occurs the most in a given list of numbers is called a mode.2.Add all of the numbers together and divide the sum by the total number of values.Place all the given numbers in an ascending orderIt shows the frequency of occurrence.3.The result is the mean or average score.The next step is to find the middle number on the list. It is called the median.We can have more than one mode or no mode at all.4.Example: To find the average of the four numbers 2, 4, 6, and 8, we need to add the number first.

  • 2 + 4 + 6+ 8 = 20
  • Divide the sum by the total number of numbers, i. e 4.
  • 20/4 = 5 is the average or mean
Example: 4, 2, 8, 10, 19.
  • Arrange the numbers in ascending order. i .e., 2, 4, 8, 10, 19.
  • As the total numbers are 5, so the middle number 8 is the median here.
Example: 3, 3, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 1, 1, 1, 4, 5, 6.
  • Find the frequency of each number.
  • For number 3, it’s 2. For 5, it’s 2. For 6, it’s 2. For 7, it’s 2. For 8, it’s one. For 1, it’s 3. For 4, it’s 1.
  • The number with the highest frequency is the mode. Hence, the mode of the given sequence of numbers is 1.

Video Lesson on Median of Data

What does mean median and mode mean in math

Register at BYJU’S to learn about other mathematical concepts in a fun and engaging way.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Difference Between Mean, Median and Mode

What are the three measures of central tendencies?

The three measures of central tendencies are mean, median and mode.

What is mean in statistics? Give an example.

The mean is the average of given data values. The formula to calculate the mean value is:
Mean = Sum of observation/Number of observations
For example, Mean of 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 is, (2+5+6+7+8)/5 = 28/5 = 5.6

What is a median? Explain with an example.

The median is the middle value of a given observation. For example, 23, 33, 43, 63, and 53 is a set of observations; then, to find the median, we need to arrange the given values in an order (ascending or descending). Hence, we get
23, 33, 43, 53, 63
Therefore, Median = 43

What is a mode? Give an example.

Mode represents the value which is repeated the maximum number of times in a given set of observations. For example, 11, 12, 13, 13, 14, and 15 are the set of data. Here, the number 13 is repeated twice and is considered to be the mode value.

Though we commonly use the word average in everyday life when discussing the number that’s the most “typical” or that’s “in the middle” of a group of values, more precise terms are used in math and statistics. Namely, the words mean, median, and mode each represent a different calculation or interpretation of which value in a data set is the most common or most representative of the set as a whole.

In this article, we’ll answer these questions and more:

  • Is there a difference between mean and average?
  • What’s the difference between mean, median, and mode?
  • How do you find the mean, median, and mode?

⚡ Quick summary

You find the mean (informally called the average) by adding up all the numbers in a set and then dividing by how many values there are. When you arrange a set of values from smallest to largest, the median is the one in the middle. The mode is simply the value that occurs the most in the set.

mean vs. average

In math, the word mean refers to what’s informally called the average. They mean the same thing, but in the context of math and statistics, it’s better to use the word mean to distinguish from other things that might be casually referred to as “average” values in a general sense (meaning values that are the most representative or common within the set).

What is the mean, median, and mode?

The mean is the number you get by dividing the sum of a set of values by the number of values in the set.

In contrast, the median is the middle number in a set of values when those values are arranged from smallest to largest.

The mode of a set of values is the most frequently repeated value in the set.

To illustrate the difference, let’s look at a very simple example.

Unlock a new world of learning!

Join the Dictionary.com parent community to get learning tips, tricks, and a whole lot more!

  • Enter Your Email*

  • Email

    This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

How to find the mean, median, and mode

Here’s an example set of seven values: 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9.

To find the mean: add up all the values (2+3+3+4+6+8+9=35) and then divide that total by the number of values (7), resulting in a mean of 5. This is what most people are referring to when they refer to the average of some set of numbers.

To find the median: find the value that’s sequentially in the middle. In a set of seven numbers arranged in increasing value, the median is the fourth number (since there are three before and three after). In this set (2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9), the median is 4. When a set has an even number of values, the median is the mean of the two middle values (in other words, you find the median by adding the two middle numbers together and dividing by two).

To find the mode: simply look to see which value shows up the most. In the example set, the mode is 3, since it occurs twice and all the other values occur only once.

Of course, this set of values is very simple compared to data sets you’re likely to encounter in real life. In cases when there is too much data to look at all at once, there are often special tools (such as those used in spreadsheet software) that you can use to determine the mean, median, and mode.

How do u find the mean?

It's obtained by simply dividing the sum of all values in a data set by the number of values. The calculation can be done from raw data or for data aggregated in a frequency table.

What does mean mode in math?

Mode: The most frequent number—that is, the number that occurs the highest number of times. Example: The mode of {4 , 2, 4, 3, 2, 2} is 2 because it occurs three times, which is more than any other number.

What does median mean in math?

The median is the middle number in a sorted list of numbers and can be more descriptive of that data set than the average. The median is sometimes used as opposed to the mean when there are outliers in the sequence that might skew the average of the values.

What's an mean in math?

What Is a Mean in Math? In mathematics and statistics, the mean refers to the average of a set of values. The mean can be computed in a number of ways, including the simple arithmetic mean (add up the numbers and divide the total by the number of observations), the geometric mean, and the harmonic mean.