The weights of five trout caught in Lake Placid are 2 lb 15 oz, 1 lb 10 oz, 2 lb 1 oz, 1 lb 11 oz, and 1 lb 10 oz. What is the median weight of the five fish?

Arrange the data into ascending order (smallest to largest)

1lb 10 oz, 1lb 10 oz, 1lb 11 oz, 2lb 1 oz, 2lb 15 oz

Find the value in the middle

1lb 11 oz is directly in the middle of this data set.

The median is 1lb 11 oz

The median weight of the five fish = 1 lb 11 oz.

Step-by-step explanation:

a) Data and Calculations (sorted in ascending order)

Fish   Weight

No.

1         1 lb 10 oz

2        1 lb 10 oz

3        1 lb 11 oz     mid-point

4       2 lb 1 oz

5       2 lb 15 oz

b) For instance, Joe arranges the Lake Placid trout's weights from the least weight of 1 lb 10 oz to the highest weight of 2 lb 15 oz.  The midpoint value is the median weight, which is given as 1 lb 11 oz.  If the number of the Lake Placid trout is even, then the median is found by taking the mean (average) of the two middlemost numbers.  The Lake Placid fish's median weight becomes more useful when there are usually bigger or smaller weights in the dataset which skew the value of the average to one side or the other.