What is the median term in the distribution below; 14, 13 29,15,13,17,12.

Analyze the question: The median is the middle value when the data is arranged in order (ascending or descending).

Concept:

• Arrange the numbers in order.
• If n is odd, the median is the ((n+1)/2)th term.
• If n is even, the median is the average of the two middle terms.

Solution:

Data: 14, 13, 29, 15, 13, 17, 12

Count: n = 7 (odd)

Arrange in ascending order: 12, 13, 13, 14, 15, 17, 29

Median position = (7 + 1)/2 = 4th term

The 4th term is 14.

Check: Three values lie below 14 (12, 13, 13) and three lie above it (15, 17, 29). So 14 is the middle value.

Answer: Option A (14).

Tip: Always sort the data first before picking the median. Do not take the middle of the list as given, which would wrongly give 29 here. Also, the median is not affected by extreme values like 29, unlike the mean.