Fifteen students are randomly selected from two different classes. They were asked how many books they read during the summer. Their responses are as follows. Find the median number of books read by each class. Which class has a higher median number of books read?

Question

Class 1: 0, 5, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 1, 1, 4, 5, 6, 4, 5, 6
Class 2: 2, 2, 4, 3, 0, 0, 6, 7, 10, 9, 6, 5, 3, 1, 2

(2 points)
The median number of books read during the summer by Class 1 is
.
The median number of books read during the summer by Class 2 is
.
Class
has a higher median number of books read during the summer...

Answer 1

To find the median number of books read by each class, we first need to sort the responses from each class in ascending order. Then we can determine the median.

Class 1 Responses:
0, 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 8, 10

• Sorted: 0, 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 8, 10

Class 2 Responses:
2, 2, 4, 3, 0, 0, 6, 7, 10, 9, 6, 5, 3, 1, 2

• Sorted: 0, 0, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 9, 10

Now, we determine the median for both classes:

Class 1 (15 responses):

Median position = (n + 1)/2 = (15 + 1)/2 = 16/2 = 8th position
The 8th response in the sorted list is 5.
Median for Class 1 = 5

Class 2 (15 responses):

Median position = (n + 1)/2 = (15 + 1)/2 = 16/2 = 8th position
The 8th response in the sorted list is 3.
Median for Class 2 = 3

Conclusion:

The median number of books read during the summer by Class 1 is 5.
The median number of books read during the summer by Class 2 is 3.
Class 1 has a higher median number of books read during the summer.