How to find the median of a set of even numbers?

The median represents the middle value for any group. It is the middle value of a sorted list of given numbers.

Answer: For an even set of numbers Median = ( (n/2)^th observation+(n/2 +1)^th observation ) / 2

The value of the middle-most observation obtained after arranging the data in ascending order is called the median of the data.

Explanation:

Note that the median is the value at the mid-point of the dataset, not the mid-point of the values.

Let us look at an example:

Annie noted the number of cakes she baked every day over the past week. If the numbers were: 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 3. What is the median value of the cakes she baked?

Step 1: Arrange the data items in ascending order.

Original set: {1,2,2,3,4,3}, Ordered Set: {1,2,2,3,3,4}

Step 2: Count the number of observations.

Number of observations n = 6 (even)

Step 3: ( (6/2)^th observation+(6/2 +1)^th observation ) / 2

Median = (3^rd observation + 4^th observation)/ 2 = (2+3)/2 = 2.5

So the median value of the cakes Annie baked is 2.5

Hence, for an even set of numbers Median = ( (n/2)^th observation+(n/2 +1)^th observation ) / 2