Median and Mode Worksheets

The median and the mode are the two averages that need no arithmetic at all - sorting and counting, not adding. This page drills the median: each problem states a list of whole numbers, and the answer is whichever value sits in the middle once the list is sorted. Every list has an odd number of values, so the middle one is always a single stated value rather than an average of two.

The mode - whichever value appears most often - is the other no-arithmetic average, and is included on the mixed mean, median and mode worksheet alongside this one. A list only ever has exactly one mode here: never a tie between two values, and never a list where nothing repeats.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median of a list of numbers?

Sort the list from smallest to largest and take the one in the middle. For 1, 16, 8, 5, 1 sorted is 1, 1, 5, 8, 16 - the median is 5.

What is the mode of a list of numbers?

Whichever value appears most often. In 6, 12, 6, 5, 16 the value 6 appears twice and nothing else repeats, so the mode is 6.

Why is the median always one of the listed numbers here?

Every list on this worksheet has an odd number of values, so sorting it always leaves a genuine middle one. An even-length list would need the average of the two middle values instead - a second calculation this worksheet does not ask for.

Can a list have no mode, or two of them?

In general, yes - but not on this worksheet. Every list here is built so exactly one value repeats more than any other, so the answer is never "none" and never a tie.