THE MEDIAN

 The median (symbol Md) of a set of data is a

measure of central tendency that occupies the
middle position in an array of values. It is the
number that divides the bottom 50% of the data
from the 50%, that is, half the data items fall below
the median and half are above that value. In an odd
number of items, the median is simply the middle
value. If n is even, the median is the average of the
two middle data values in the ordered list.
 The median is computed as follows:
1. Arrange the items in an array (either
descending or ascending order).
2. Identify the middle value. If the number
of items is even, take the sum of two middle
values then divide by 2.

COMPUTATION OF THE MEAN FOR

UNGROUPED DATA
 The amount of money a balut vendor earned on five
randomly selected days are:
86, 108, 141, 74, 123
Making an array, we have:
74, 86, 108, 123, 141
Since there are 5 (odd) items,
Median = Md = 108

LET’S TRY THIS ONE!!!

 The formula for the computation of the
median is:
Median = Md = LB+

COMPUTATION OF THE MEDIAN FOR

GROUPED DATA
 Where
LB = lower boundary of the median class
Median class is the class interval where is found
Cfp = cumulative frequency for the class interval preceding the median class
C = size of the median class
fmd = frequency of the median class

*In the computation of the median, the number of the desired item is first determined by (n =
number of items). Referring to “less than” cumulative frequency distribution by cumulative
addition, the amount is continued until the group containing the middle value is located. The
class interval where the median is located is called the median class. The median class is the
class interval where is found.
Height “less than” cumulative frequencies
(inches) f (<f)
61 – 63 2 2
64 – 66 5 7
67 – 69 12 19
70 – 72 15 34
73 – 75 8 42
76 – 78 5 47
79 - 81 3 50

Solution:

Md = LB+
= 69.5 + 3
= 69.5 + 1.2
= 70.7 inches
 Solve the Median of the Grouped
Data

Scores “less than” cumulative frequencies

f (<f)
2-4 3
5-7 9
8-10 14
11-13 18
14-16 10
17-19 6