If a data set is ordered as 3, 1, 2, 4, 5, what is the median?

• A. 1
• B. 2
• C. 3
• D. 4

Answer: (C)

To determine the median of a set of numbers, it is essential first to organize the data in ascending order. For the given data set: 3, 1, 2, 4, 5, once sorted, it becomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

The median is the middle value in an ordered list of numbers. Since there are five numbers in this set (which is an odd quantity), the median will be the third number in this ordered list.

In the sorted list, the numbers are:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

As the third number in this sequence is 3, this value represents the median of the data set. Thus, the correct answer is indeed 3.