The middle value of a distribution, with half the scores above and below, is the:

The middle value of a distribution, with half the scores above and below, is the:

• A. Mean
• B. Median
• C. Mode
• D. Range

Answer: (B)

The middle value of a data set, with half the scores above and half below, is the median. It’s defined by ordering the data from smallest to largest and picking the value that splits the list into two equal halves. If there’s an odd number of scores, the median is the exact middle value. If there’s an even number, the median is the average of the two middle values. This makes the median a good measure of center when data are skewed or contain outliers, because it depends on position rather than the size of extreme values. By contrast, the mean can be dragged by outliers, the mode is simply the most frequent value, and the range reflects spread rather than central tendency.

The middle value of a data set, with half the scores above and half below, is the median. It’s defined by ordering the data from smallest to largest and picking the value that splits the list into two equal halves. If there’s an odd number of scores, the median is the exact middle value. If there’s an even number, the median is the average of the two middle values. This makes the median a good measure of center when data are skewed or contain outliers, because it depends on position rather than the size of extreme values. By contrast, the mean can be dragged by outliers, the mode is simply the most frequent value, and the range reflects spread rather than central tendency.