This deep dive covers Understanding Each Type of Average within Averages for GCSE Mathematics. Revise Averages in Statistics for GCSE Mathematics with 14 exam-style questions and 20 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 3 of 6 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 3 of 6
Practice
14 questions
Recall
20 flashcards
Understanding Each Type of Average
1. Mean (Arithmetic Average)
Formula: Mean = (Sum of all values) ÷ (Number of values)
When to use: When data has no extreme outliers and you want to use every value.
Example: Finding the Mean
Test scores: 75, 82, 88, 79, 91, 85, 77
Mean = (75 + 82 + 88 + 79 + 91 + 85 + 77) ÷ 7 = 577 ÷ 7 = 82.4
2. Median
Method: Arrange values in order, find the middle value
When to use: When data contains outliers or is skewed.
Example: Finding the Median
Same test scores arranged: 75, 77, 79, 82, 85, 88, 91
With 7 values, the median is the 4th value = 82
For even numbers of values: Take the mean of the two middle values
Example with 6 values: 75, 77, 79, 82, 85, 88
Median = (79 + 82) ÷ 2 = 80.5
3. Mode
Definition: The value that appears most frequently
When to use: For categorical data or when you want the most common value.
Example: Finding the Mode
Shoe sizes: 6, 7, 7, 8, 7, 9, 8, 7, 6
Mode = 7 (appears 4 times)
Note: Data can have no mode, one mode, or multiple modes (bimodal, multimodal)