The 3 M's

I just finished some math homework, and it was all about the "3 M's".  When I say the "3 M's", I am talking about the mean, median, and mode.  Sometimes it is hard to remember which definition goes to what term.  It is always good to give yourself a reminder on what each word means.  Reminders are never a bad thing, especially when you are doing a problem with lots of numbers, you're going to want to do it right the first time.

The mean, is the average of all of the data.  When asked to give the mean, you need to find the sum by adding all of the numbers together.  Once you have the sum, divide it by the number of values used.  The median, is in the middle of the data.  Organizing the data from "least to greatest" is the most crucial component about the median. The answer will not be correct if the data is not from least to greatest.  If there is an even amount of data, there will be two numbers left in the middle.  In order the find the median when you have two numbers left, you take the average of the two numbers.  The answer that you will get is the median.  The mode is simply the number that occurs the most often in the data.  Sometimes, there is no mode because each number only occurs once.

I found a video that I thought was so fun.  Here is a class singing about the mean, median, and mode.  The song helps reinforce what each term means.  It is also a very catching tune!  Happy listening!!!

Here is the link to the youtube page

Klassen, Rosanne. Class lecture. Mathematics for Elementary Education Teachers II. Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ.