Special Notes | Mean is the arithmetic mean, or simply a simple average or weighted average. | When a series has even numbers, the median is the simple average of the middle pair of numbers. | If there is a unique data set, there is no mode at all. |
When to use | When data is normally distributed, the mean is widely preferred. | When data distribution is skewed, the median is the best representative. | When there is a nominal distribution of data, the mode is preferred. |
Formula | Mean= x̀„ = \Sigma x/N i.e.,
Mean = Sum of all values/Number of | If the total number of observations (n) is odd, then the median is: Median = (n + 1/2)th observation If the total number of observations (n) is are even number, then the formula is given below: Median = (n/2)th observation + (n/2+1)th observation /2 | The mode is the most frequently occurring observation or value |
Example | For example, for the dataset 2,3,5,7,11, the mean would be: \frac{2 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 11}{5} = \frac{28}{5} = 5.6 | For example, for the dataset 2,3,5,7,11, the median would be: The median is 5 (the middle number). | For example, in the dataset 1,2,2,3,3,3. The mode is 3 because it appears the most (three times). |