Question 92756
<pre><font size = 4 color = "darkblue"><b>
Find the median. 
22, 15, 21, 37, 27 
A) 22 B) 15 C) 27 D) 21 

I got A as my answer and I want to make sure 
that I got this correct, thank you

Arrange the numbers in order from smallest to largest:

15, 21, <font color = "red">22</font>, 27, 37

When there is an odd number of numbers, the number in 
the middle is the median, so since <font color = "red">22</font> is the number in
the middle, the median is <font color = "red">22</font>. So you are correct.

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Just remember that when you have an even number of numbers,
when you arrange them in order, there won't be just one 
number in the middle as there is here, when you had an odd 
number of numbers.  However there will be TWO numbers in
the middle, not one.  So then you have to average the two
in the middle.

Suppose you had these six numbers instead:

41, 25, 23, 30, 16, 21

Arrange the numbers in order from smallest to largest:

16, 21, <font color = "red">23</font>, <font color = "red">25</font>, 30, 41
   
There is not just one number in the middle, instead
there are TWO numbers in the middle, <font color = "red">23</font> and <font color = "red">25</font>.  So
we average those two:

Add them: <font color = "red">23</font> + <font color = "red">25</font> = <font color = "darkgreen">48</font>, then divide by 2, getting <font color = "indigo">24</font>.

So <font color = "indigo">24</font> is the median of those 6 numbers.

Edwin</pre>