ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

CAHSEE Math 1.2 Statistics, Data, and Probability I 197 Views


Share It!


Description:

Statistics, Data, and Probability I: Drill Set 1, Problem 2. What is the median length of these writing utensils?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

Here's the boring, unshmoopily-voiced question...

00:06

The lengths, in centimeters, of ten different types of pencils and pens are listed below.

00:13

What is the median length of these writing utensils?

00:17

Here are the potential answers.

00:24

So... what is this question really asking?

00:26

Well, it's really two things.

00:28

First, it's testing our vocabulary... do we know what a median is?

00:33

Uh, no, that's a mediUM.

00:34

A median is the center value of a data set.

00:39

That is, if we took all our numbers and organized them low to high...

00:42

...and started throwing out one high for every low

00:45

'til we were left with only the middle number...

00:48

we would have our median.

00:51

Okay... first we have to order the numbers.

00:54

00:54

We want to organize our data set in terms of length from shortest to longest.

00:59

Cross out the high, cross out the low... Cross out the high, cross out the low...

01:06

Kind of sounds like a camp song we'd sing around the lake, no?

01:09

Anyway, when we're done crossing out numbers, we're left with 13.6 and 14 in the middle.

01:14

We're too competitive to settle for a tie.

01:17

Our median has to have a single answer.

01:20

But... freeze... and go back to the answer set offered to us.

01:24

Note that 14 isn't even listed as a choice.

01:28

So even if we didn't know that we're supposed to average the numbers,

01:32

we know that we don't just pick... any ol' number.

01:35

But also notice that 13.6 is there as a choice.

01:38

Ooh... curveball.

01:39

Let's not get hit in the head by it. The answer isn't 13.6.

01:44

To get the median, we have to average the remaining 2 numbers.

01:49

Average? Uh oh, what does that mean?

01:51

All we have to do is add our two middles numbers...

01:54

in this case we add 14 and 13.6 to get 27.6...

01:58

...then, since there are 2 numbers, we divide 27.6 by 2 to get the magic number... 13.8.

02:05

And voila!

02:05

There is our answer...

Up Next

CAHSEE Math 3.4 Statistics, Data, and Probability I
363 Views

Statistics, Data, and Probability I: Drill Set 3, Problem 4. How many different avatars can be created based on the given options?

Related Videos

CAHSEE Math 5.3 Algebra and Functions
2032 Views

CAHSEE Math: Algebra and Functions Drill 5, Problem 3. Solve the equation.

SAT Math 6.1 Geometry and Measurement
3974 Views

SAT Math 6.1 Geometry and Measurement

CAHSEE Math 3.2 Statistics, Data, and Probability II
224 Views

Statistics, Data, and Probability II Drill 3 Problem 2. Which two sports together make up for the preferences of more than half of all those w...

CAHSEE Math 3.3 Statistics, Data, and Probability II
198 Views

Statistics, Data, and Probability II Drill 3 Problem 3. One hundred twenty of those who were asked preferred what sport?