Mean, Median and Mode
Type in a set of numbers and see the mean, median, mode and range worked out step by step, with a dot plot that shows where each one sits.
Work these out on paper, then type your answers.
How to use it
Type or paste numbers, or load a sample and change it. Every result shows its working: the sum divided by the count for the mean, the sorted list with the middle marked for the median, how often each value appears for the mode, and the biggest minus the smallest for the range. On the dot plot, the clay triangle is the mean and the green one is the median. Press What if I add an outlier? to see which measure moves more.
Practice gives a fresh set of numbers to work out by hand, then checks each answer and explains any that are off.
Three kinds of "middle"
The mean is the fair-share value: add everything and share it out equally. The median is the middle value once the numbers are in order (with an even count, it's halfway between the two middle values). The mode is the value that appears most often; a set can have no mode, or more than one. The range isn't a middle at all: it measures spread, the distance from smallest to largest.
An outlier, one value far from the rest, drags the mean toward it but barely moves the median. That's why house prices and incomes are usually reported as medians. The quartiles here split the ordered data into quarters using the "median of each half" method (leaving out the middle value when the count is odd); some calculators use slightly different rules, so their quartiles can differ a little.
- Which measure best describes "a typical plant" if one plant got knocked over?
- Can you make a set of five numbers with mean 10 but median 6?
- When would the mode be the most useful (shoe sizes, favourite colours)?
Free to use, no account needed. It runs in your browser: nothing you type, and no sound from your microphone, is sent to Fieldbook.
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