The following is a listing of the amount of sugar in six popular snacks found on a high school camp: 34 g, 34 g, 42 g, 50 g, 52 g, 58 g. What is the median?
A. 46g
B. 42g
C. 34g
D. 50 g
Answer (1)
Arrange the data in ascending order: 34 g, 34 g, 42 g, 50 g, 52 g, 58 g.
Identify the two middle values: 42 g and 50 g.
Calculate the average of the two middle values: 2 42 + 50 = 46 .
The median is 46 g .
Explanation
Arrange the data First, we need to arrange the given data in ascending order to find the median. The data is already given in ascending order: 34 g, 34 g, 42 g, 50 g, 52 g, 58 g.
Identify middle values Since there are an even number of data points (6), the median is the average of the two middle values. The two middle values are 42 g and 50 g.
Calculate the average Now, we calculate the average of the two middle values: 2 42 + 50 = 2 92 = 46
State the median The median of the data set is 46 g.
Examples
Understanding measures of center like the median can help you analyze data in everyday situations. For example, if you're tracking the prices of a particular item at different stores, the median price can give you a sense of the 'typical' price, which is less affected by extremely high or low prices than the average. This helps you make informed decisions about where to shop or what's a fair price to pay. Similarly, understanding the distribution of sugar content in snacks helps in making healthier dietary choices.
