Which term describes the middle number in a sorted data set?

The middle number in a sorted data set is known as the median. To find the median, you arrange the numbers in ascending order and identify the number that falls directly in the center. If there is an odd number of observations, the median is the middle number. If there is an even number of observations, the median is calculated by taking the average of the two middle numbers. This characteristic makes the median particularly useful in statistics, as it provides a measure of central tendency that is less affected by outliers and skewed data than the mean.

In contrast, the mean refers to the average of all numbers in the data set, calculated by summing all values and dividing by the total number of values. The mode indicates the number that appears most frequently in the data set. Standard deviation measures the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values. Hence, the median specifically relates to the central value in a sorted data set and is distinctly defined from these other statistical measures.