Mean mode median and range is a topic that appears in the transfer test from time to time. If you can’t remember what the mean mode median and range are, then these questions can make you feel stressed and panicked. This is also a topic that your child will be learning in their Key Stage 2 (KS2) classroom, so this is the perfect post for you, even if your child isn’t sitting the transfer test! In this blog post, I will tell you the difference between each of these maths topics and how you completed mean median mode and range questions when they pop up in your child’s homework!
Before we get stuck into the differences between each of these four maths concepts, let’s talk about the transfer test. If your child is just beginning their transfer test journey, I have a FREE SEAG style practice paper and teaching guide just for you. This 30-minute paper is great for introducing practice papers to your child. It’s got a nice calming font and appearance and a teaching guide to help you explain any tricky concepts to your child. Click here to download your FREE test paper!
Mean median mode and range explained
The perfect way to start this blog post is to give you what you want to hear right? And that’s what each of these actually are! I’m going to take each of these maths concepts one by one and give you the mean median mode range definition. Once we have talked about the mean median mode and range meaning, we can go through some mean median mode and range problems. By the end of this blog post, you’ll be a range, median, mode and mean superstar!
The Mean/Average
The mean and the average are both the same thing. You will probably see these terms being used interchangeably in your child’s homework. Usually, questions will have both terms in the question and sometimes it will be one or the other. To find the mean or average of a set of numbers, you simply need to add all of the numbers together. Once you have this total, you divide your answer by how many numbers there are. For example, if your child is asked to find the mean/average of the numbers 10, 12, 14 and 16, you will add these numbers together. When you have your total of 52, you will divide this by how many numbers you have, which is 4. 52 divided by 4 is 13. So the mean/average of 10, 12, 14 and 16 is 13.
Mode
The mode is one of the easiest concepts out of the four to work out. The mode is simply the number that occurs the most. Your child will be given a set of numbers and the number that appears the most in this set or list of numbers is the mode. For example, if a question gives you the numbers 12, 10, 17, 2, 3, 4, 12, 10, 11, 10, we can see that each of the numbers has appeared once apart from the number 10 which appears three times. And that’s our answer! The mode of this set of numbers is 10! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
Median
The median isn’t too tricky to work out, it’s just a bit of a pain as there’s a bit more working out than the other concepts. The median is the value that is in the middle when a set of numbers is put in order from smallest to largest. For example, if you are required to find the median of the numbers 10, 8, 6, 12, 16, 2 and 30, first of all, we must order the numbers from smallest to largest.
Once we have put the numbers in order, the median is the value in the middle. If there are two numbers in the middle, the median is the number which is in between them. For example, if the two values are 8 and 10, the median is 9. If the two values are 4 and 4, the median is 4. If the two values are 8 and 9, the median is 8.5.
Range
The range is one of the easiest to work out as it is simply the largest value minus the smallest value. For example, with the numbers 12, 4, 6, 8, 20 and 15, to find the range we would subtract the smallest number, 4, from the largest number, 20. The range is 16.
Mean median mode and range examples
There are a few different ways that your child can be asked to find the mean mode median and range of numbers. Some mean median mode and range questions will just have a set of numbers and other questions will be in a word problem format. Let’s go through a couple of mean median mode and range questions and answers.
The Mean/Average
Let’s take a look at a word problem example of finding the mean/average of a set of numbers. Samuel has a greenhouse. He counts how many of each vegetable he has. He has 63 peas, 72 carrots, 94 potatoes and 123 onions. What is the mean/average of Samuel’s vegetables?
To find the mean/average, we need to add up the total amount of vegetables that Samuel has. 63 + 72 + 94 + 123 = 352. Once we have the total amount of vegetables, we will divide this answer by how many types of vegetables there are, which is 4. 352 divided by 4 is 88. The mean/average of Samuel’s vegetables is 88.
Mode
Here is an example of a word problem where students are required to find the mode of a set of numbers. Steve made a list of his team’s football scores over the 11 weeks. The team’s scores are 8, 3, 7, 2, 5, 10, 1, 0, 7, 4 and 6. What is the mode of the team’s football scores?
To find the mode, we need to determine which number appears the most. We can see from the set of numbers that the only number that appears more than once is 7. The mode of the team’s football score is 7.
Median
Next, let’s take a look at a median word problem. Five people had their heights measured which are listed here. The heights are 173.2cm, 193.3cm, 145.5cm, 105.05cm and 105.5cm. What is the median of their heights?
The first step that we need to take is to put the heights in order from smallest to largest. The heights in order are 105.05cm, 105.5cm, 145.5cm, 173.2cm and 193.3cm. The median height is 145.5cm as it is the middle value.
Range
Lastly, let’s complete a word problem where you need to find the range. A bingo caller made a note of the numbers as they came out of the machine. The numbers that came out in the first round were 34, 17, 21, 96, 53, 7, 66 and 38. What is the range of the bingo numbers?
To find the range of the bingo numbers we need to subtract the smallest number from the largest number. The smallest value is 7 and the largest is 96. 96 minus 7 is 89. The range of the bingo numbers is 89.
Activities to develop your child’s understanding of the mean median, mode and range
If your child gets confused with these four concepts, there are some fun activities you can do to help them learn the difference between each of them. There are some great range, median, mode and mean/average games which can help develop your child’s skills. Check out this mean, median, mode and range game and this mean, mode, median and range statistic game too.
Another great way to teach your child the difference between the mean mode median and range is to make their own posters or note cards. Creating their revision materials will help them to learn the difference between each of these concepts. Continue to practise finding the mean mode median and range by grabbing a few dice and have your child find the mean mode median and range of the numbers that they rolled! Practical activities are great for developing your child’s understanding of the mean mode median and range. You can count out some sweet treats and get your child to find the mean mode median or range of the different types of treats!
How do these concepts appear in your child’s homework?
The mean median mode and range in math can appear in your child’s homework in a couple of ways. They may be asked to find the mean mode median and range of a set of numbers or they could also be asked in word problems. If your child becomes confused during homework time, grab those posters or revision cards that they made and use them as a learning tool to help during homework time.
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I hope this blog post helps with your child’s understanding of the mean mode median and range. It can take a while to learn the differences between each of these concepts and remember the difference! They are important concepts to learn as your child will continue to learn about the mean mode median and range when they go into secondary school! Don’t forget to check out my social media pages on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok to watch my mean mode median and range teaching videos!
