BeginnerStatistical Functions
Find the typical order size with MEDIAN
Use the median to describe a set of orders that one huge deal has skewed.
MEDIAN
5 min15 points
MEDIAN practice exercises
Returns the middle value — the one an outlier can't drag around. Below are 2 interactive exercises that put it to work on realistic business data — you write the formula, and get told exactly what went wrong when it does not work.
Syntax
MEDIAN(number1, [number2], ...)
Need a refresher? Learn MEDIAN — syntax, a worked example and where it goes wrong.
Practise MEDIAN
Ordered from most approachable to hardest.
When MEDIAN is the right tool
Returns the middle value — the one an outlier can't drag around. It belongs to the statistical functions family, and it shows up constantly in real work — which is why it is worth being genuinely fluent rather than merely familiar.
Before this one, it helps to be comfortable with AVERAGE. The exercises below assume that ground is covered.
Reading about a function is not the same as being able to write it. The exercises on this page exist because the gap between recognising MEDIAN and producing it from memory, correctly, on data you have not seen before, only closes by doing it.
Related functions
Questions about MEDIAN
How do I practise MEDIAN without Excel installed?
Every exercise on this page runs in your browser. You type the MEDIAN formula into a real spreadsheet grid and get told immediately whether it works — no download, no account.
What does MEDIAN do?
Returns the middle value — the one an outlier can't drag around. The syntax is MEDIAN(number1, [number2], ...). The exercises below put it to work on realistic business data rather than abstract examples.
How long does it take to learn MEDIAN?
Most people can write a working MEDIAN formula within twenty minutes of practice. Getting it right under pressure — with edge cases, unsorted data and ranges that must survive being filled down — is what the harder exercises here are for.