Day 12 Advent Calendar: The Twelve Days of Data Handling.

Simple rules, avoid the blues...

The Twelve Days of Data Handling. Mean, Median and Range.

December spending often varies from day to day.

Today, we'll look at simple data handling.

This Skill that Counts helps you understand average spending and to help spot patterns.

You record your daily Christmas spending over five days:

£12, £18, £10, £25, £15

Step 1: 

The Golden Rule Put the numbers in order

10, 12, 15, 18, 25

If you need any resources to build this skill, drop me an email or leave a comment for FREE RESOURCES ON DATA HANDLING.

Step 2: 

Work out the median

The median is the middle number. Middle value = 15 (see above).

Easy, when you have an odd number of data, what about an even number of data?

Try 7, 10, 12, 15, 18, 25

Step 3: 

Work out the mean

Add the numbers:12 + 18 + 10 + 25 + 15 = 80

Divide by 80 ÷ 5 = 16

Mean = 16

If you need any resources to build this skill, drop me an email or leave a comment for FREE RESOURCES ON DATA HANDLING.

Step 4: 

Work out the range

Highest value − lowest value

25 − 10 = 15

Range = 15

Skills that Count Check

Always order the data first.

The mean is affected by high or low values.

The median gives a better picture when spending varies.

The Skills that Count

Understanding averages helps you analyse:

• Spending patterns.

• Set realistic budgets.

• and make better financial decisions.

• Move to Group Frequency

Check your recent spending and share your Mean, Median and Range in the comments.