Average Antics

When you have a list of consecutive numbers, the median is equal to the mean.

{1,2,3,4,5}

Mean:3 Median:3

If the number of numbers of the list is even, the mean/median won't appear in the list.

{4,5,6,7,8,9}

Mean:6.5 Median:6.5

However, it'll be the average of the 2 middle numbers.

(6 + 7) ÷ 2 = 13/2 = 6.5


{2,4,6}

Mean:4 Median:4


{7,9,11}

Mean:9 Median:9

You can make every number in the list even or odd, and the trick will still work!

Remember: they must be consecutive.

{3,6,9,12,15}

Mean:9 Median:9

It even works when they're multiples of the same number!

They must all be multiples of the same number; if one of them is a multiple of a different number, the mean and median won't be equal!

You can also just pick a number & skip the same amount of integers between each number to make the trick work out!

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© Derek Cumberbatch