There are 20 men in a room whose heights are reflected in inches as 68,...

The median is the middle value of an ordered data set. Because there are 20 observations, the number of data values is even, so the median is the average of the 10th and 11th values after the data are arranged from least to greatest. Ordering the heights gives 60, 65, 66, 67, 68, 68, 68, 69, 70, 70, 70, 71, 71, 72, 73, 73, 73, 74, 76, 78. The 10th value is 70, and the 11th value is also 70. The median is therefore (70 + 70) ÷ 2 = 70. This value divides the ordered heights into two equal halves: ten values are at or below 70, and ten values are at or above 70. The median is resistant to extreme values, so the low value 60 and the high value 78 do not distort it the way they could affect the mean. References/topics from the Study Guide: median, ordered data, measures of center, quantitative data.

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