Question

Help with this SAT problem please!

Answer 1

I don't get why the answer is the answer

Answer 2

is 27 the answer ?

Answer 3

Noo, 26

Answer 4

I chose 27 also

Answer 5

median is just middle value, when arranged in order.....must be 27

Answer 6

I know right? But this was from a SAT in 2010 I think and it's apparently a level 5 question

Answer 7

- the first column has just as much data as the last two columns combined
- the second column has 10 more data points than the third column (and this is the only data "left")

Answer 8

I still don't follow @canairy113

Answer 9

each value along the vertical axis corresponds to a data point, so you can figure out where the median is without writing all of the data out

Answer 10

each "tick mark" i suppose is better

Answer 11

But I thought you're supposed to order them from least to greatest

Answer 12

the least to greatest ordering has to do with the horizontal axis' values

Answer 13

so they are ordered :-)

Answer 14

I'm sorry but I'm still not seeing how it's 26 :( Sorry :((

Answer 15

what do you understand about it?

Answer 16

I don't get what you mean by they're already ordered

Answer 17

think about finding the median like you would think about it using a stem and leaf plot, except turned 90 degrees counterclockwise

Answer 18

But 26 is still the biggest?

Answer 19

it has the most values, and it happens to be where the median is

Answer 20

But the median is where 27 is ?

Answer 21

this is where your answer differs from the test writers' right?

Answer 22

right

Answer 23

okay, so how are you eliminating the 25, 26, 28, and 29 as possibilities?

Answer 24

25, 26, 27, 28 , 29
Crossing out 25 then 29 then 26 thwn 28

Answer 25

it sounds like you just guessed

Answer 26

But that's how you find the median? The middle value?

Answer 27

how mathematical is guessing? lol it's not very mathematical at all unless you're counting proability

Answer 28

Hahah can you take this from the top , as why it's 26? It makes no sense at all to me

Answer 29

well you know it's in the middle, so you can eliminate some of the largest values (the right side of the graph) and some of the smallest values (the left side of the graph)

Answer 30

How do we know it's in the middle again?

Answer 31

because it's the median

Answer 32

But I don't get how you're actually getting the median for this

Answer 33

sorry!

Answer 34

i guess there's a good reason this is a level 5 problem

Answer 35

So how did you get the median?!? @canairy113

Answer 36

do you know how to find it using a stem and leaf plot?

Answer 37

I don't actually. How do you do so?

Answer 38

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_and_leaf_plot#Constructing_a_stem_plot

Answer 39

and then you eliminate all of the data except the median