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do you use mean or median to find the typical number?

 May 6, 2014

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 #1
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I don't know what you mean (no pun intended) by typical number. The mean is the sum of all entries divided by the number of entries. For example, if we have 3,7,2,8,5 then the mean is given by (3+7+2+8+5)/5 = 5. The median is the 'middle' number of the chronically labeled entries. For example if we have 2,6,5,3,8,9,6 then the median can be found by chronically ordering the entries ( 2,3,5,6,6,8,9 ) and picking the middle number (6).

 

If by typical you mean most commonly used, I believe the mean is more commonly used than the median. This however does not yield that it is a better method! 

 May 6, 2014
 #1
avatar+2353 
+5
Best Answer

I don't know what you mean (no pun intended) by typical number. The mean is the sum of all entries divided by the number of entries. For example, if we have 3,7,2,8,5 then the mean is given by (3+7+2+8+5)/5 = 5. The median is the 'middle' number of the chronically labeled entries. For example if we have 2,6,5,3,8,9,6 then the median can be found by chronically ordering the entries ( 2,3,5,6,6,8,9 ) and picking the middle number (6).

 

If by typical you mean most commonly used, I believe the mean is more commonly used than the median. This however does not yield that it is a better method! 

reinout-g May 6, 2014

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