The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
The median of a data set is the value above which half of the data lie and below which half the data lie. It is considered to be the "middle" number of the data set. If the data set is composed of an odd number of entries, the median is the exact middle number. If the data set is composed of an even number of entries, the median is the average of the two middle numbers. The median may not be a number in the data set. The median is influenced very little by extreme data values. When computing the median, the data list must be ordered from lowest number to highest number.
The following data set is odd: 1, 2, 5, 7, 9. The median here is 5, because 5 is the absolute middle number (there are two numbers on either side of it). The following data set is even: 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10. Here the median is 6; 5 + 7 (the two numbers in the middle) รท 2 = 6.
The median of a data set is a measure of central tendency, like the mean and the mode. It describes the distribution or gives a summary of events that take place in a data set. It can be used for comparison purposes.
The median of a triangle is a segment from a vertex in the triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side. Every triangle has three possible medians--one from each vertex. The centroid is the place inside the triangle where all three medians intersect. This is considered to be the balance point of the triangle.