Administration and Executive AssistantTier 625 minintermediate
MEDIAN vs AVERAGE with an Outlier
Describe what a "typical" transaction looks like when one huge outlier would otherwise distort the average.
What you will learn
- Explain why a single large outlier pulls AVERAGE well above what most values actually look like
- Use MEDIAN to describe a typical value that is not affected by an outlier's size, only its rank
- Recognise when "typical" should mean the middle value rather than the mean
Excel skills
MEDIAN, AVERAGE · Descriptive Statistics
The task
Eleven transactions came through today, including one large bulk order. Report the typical transaction value in Summary!B3 - the figure that best describes what a normal transaction actually looked like, not one dragged upward by a single unusual order.
You work in a real spreadsheet in your browser, and your answer is checked against hidden traps the moment you submit.