The median is defined as

• A. The middle value in a dataset
• B. The sum of all values divided by the count
• C. The value that occurs most frequently
• D. The maximum minus minimum

Answer: (A)

The median is the middle value of a dataset when the numbers are arranged in order. If the dataset has an odd number of observations, the median is the exact central value; if even, it’s the average of the two central values. For example, in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 the median is 3; in 1, 2, 3, 4 the median is (2 + 3) / 2 = 2.5. This sets it apart from the mean, which is found by summing all values and dividing by the count, from the mode, which is the most frequent value, and from the range, which is the difference between the maximum and minimum. The median’s appeal is that it represents a central point that isn’t easily swayed by extreme outliers, making it a robust measure of central tendency in skewed data.