Median
- CBSE · NCERT Class 7 Part 2, Ch 5 Connecting the Dots
The median is the middle value of a set of numbers sorted from smallest to largest, or halfway between the two middle values if the count is even.
To find the median, first put the values in order. Then pick the one in the middle. Half the values lie at or below it, and half lie at or above it.
- An odd number of values has one middle value. That is the median.
- An even number of values has two middle values. The median is halfway between them: add them and divide by 2.
A small example
Five friends sleep 7, 9, 6, 8 and 10 hours. In order: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. The middle value is 8, so the median is 8 hours.
A sixth friend sleeps 5 hours. In order: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. The two middle values are 7 and 8. The median is (7 + 8) ÷ 2 = 7.5 hours.
A slip to watch for is picking the middle of the list as written, without sorting it first. In the first list, that gives 6, which is wrong.
A single very large or very small value hardly moves the median. It can move the mean a lot.
Why it matters later
Class 10 Chapter 13 finds the median of grouped data. You first locate the median class, the class that holds the middle value, and then use a formula. It is the same "find the middle" idea on a larger scale.
Sources
Facts last checked against these sources on 30 September 2026.
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