For the marks distribution below (50 students), form the 'less than' and 'more than' cumulative frequency tables, and find the median (a) by locating where the two ogives would intersect, and (b) by the median formula, to confirm both give the same answer.
| Marks | 0–10 | 10–20 | 20–30 | 30–40 | 40–50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of students | 5 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 10 |
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Step 1 — 'less than' cumulative frequency table (cumulate from the top):
| Marks less than | Cumulative frequency |
|---|---|
| 10 | 5 |
| 20 | 5+8=13 |
| 30 | 13+12=25 |
| 40 | 25+15=40 |
| 50 | 40+10=50 |
Step 2 — 'more than' cumulative frequency table (cumulate from the bottom):
| Marks more than or equal to | Cumulative frequency |
|---|---|
| 0 | 50 |
| 10 | 50−5=45 |
| 20 | 45−8=37 |
| 30 | 37−12=25 |
| 40 | 25−15=10 |
Step 3 — locate the median class. Total , so . In the 'less than' table, the cumulative frequency first reaches 25 exactly at 'less than 30' — so the two ogives cross at , giving a graphically-read median of 30 marks. This also matches: the 'more than' table shows cumulative frequency 25 at 'more than or equal to 30' — the same crossing point, confirming the two ogives genuinely intersect at (30, 25).
Step 4 — confirm with the median formula. The median class is (it is the class whose 'less than' cumulative frequency first reaches/exceeds 25, and the cumulative frequency just before it, 13, corresponds to the previous class 10–20):
, , (cumulative frequency of the class before the median class), (frequency of the median class 20–30), (class width). …
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