Mean: add them all, divide by how many. Median: put them in order and take the middle, or halfway between two middles. Mode: the most common. Range: greatest − least.
meanthe total shared out equally
medianthe middle number when put in order
modethe number that appears most often
rangethe greatest minus the least
Watch for: Finding the median without putting the numbers in order first. Dividing the total by the wrong count, like 4 when there are 5 numbers. Giving the greatest number as the range instead of greatest minus least.
At home: Track something for a week, like minutes of reading each day. Then find the mean, median, mode and range together.
Sample sheet and answer key
Luna's Space Adventure
Grade 5 · Mean, median, mode and range · 5.PS.2
NameDate
Astronaut Luna is exploring a far-off corner of space. Solve each problem to help Luna's mission go smoothly!
Four ways to sum up data
Mean: share the total equally. Median: the middle, in order. Mode: most often. Range: greatest − least.
Data
Mean
Median
Mode
Range
45, 24, 59, 28, 59
48, 16, 45, 16, 46, 59, 22
29, 29, 44, 38, 20
30, 39, 17, 55, 29, 55, 13
From a line plot
Each × is one friend and how many rocket bolts they found.
The mean is
The median is
The mode is
The range is
Story time
1
Max, Zed, Orion and Nova have 18, 8, 18 and 12 moon rocks. They share them out equally. How many moon rocks does each friend get?
moon rocks
2
Max found 8, 13, 16 and 15 star stickers on four days. How many must Max find on day 5 for a mean of 12 a day?
star stickers
Sheet
Luna's Space Adventure
Grade 5 · Mean, median, mode and range · 5.PS.2
Answer key
Astronaut Luna is exploring a far-off corner of space. Solve each problem to help Luna's mission go smoothly!
Four ways to sum up data
Mean: share the total equally. Median: the middle, in order. Mode: most often. Range: greatest − least.
Data
Mean
Median
Mode
Range
45, 24, 59, 28, 59
43
45
59
35
48, 16, 45, 16, 46, 59, 22
36
45
16
43
29, 29, 44, 38, 20
32
29
29
24
30, 39, 17, 55, 29, 55, 13
34
30
55
42
From a line plot
Each × is one friend and how many rocket bolts they found.
The mean is6
The median is6
The mode is4
The range is6
Story time
1
Max, Zed, Orion and Nova have 18, 8, 18 and 12 moon rocks. They share them out equally. How many moon rocks does each friend get?
(18 + 8 + 18 + 12) ÷ 4 = 14
14moon rocks
2
Max found 8, 13, 16 and 15 star stickers on four days. How many must Max find on day 5 for a mean of 12 a day?
5 × 12 = 60, then 60 − 8 − 13 − 16 − 15 = 8
8star stickers
Answer key
New problems every time, three levels (gentle, core and stretch), themes to pick from, a second page if you want one. Each sheet comes with an answer key and a one-page guide for grown-ups.
