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Mean Mode Median

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This song is so amazing. In just a few short words, students are able to recall the difference between mean, mode and median.

Here's a little help with lyric meaning:

"The mean is the average, Add ‘em then divide"

Finding the mean is the same as finding average. Add the set of numbers and then divide by the number of numbers in the set.

"The mode is most often, and it’s easiest to find"

The mode is the number found most often on the set. If it''s a tie, then we say that there is no mode. It''s easiest for kids to solve the mode because they simply have to count...which number is found most often in the set?

"Median is the middle, won’t have any trouble

Just line ‘em up big to little

Pick the number in the middle"

The median is the number found in the middle of the set when the numbers are placed in order. This concept is normally explained as lining the numbers up from smallest to largest. We sing, "big to little" in the song because it rhymes; either way, the correct answer is found. If there are two numbers in the middle, the median is the average/mean of those two numbers. For example, in the data set 4, 5, 8, 13 the median is 6.5 because 5 and 8 are in the middle, 5 + 8 = 13, and 13 divided by 2 is 6.5.