The stem-and-leaf plot shows the ages of a group of friends. Find the median age.
Stem Leaf
2 8
3 1 2 4
4 2 7 9
5 4
Key: 2|8=28 years
To find the median age, we need to arrange the ages in order from least to greatest. The stem-and-leaf plot makes this easy: we can read the ages directly off the plot in order. Here are the ages arranged in order:
28, 31, 32, 34, 42, 47, 49, 54
We have 8 ages, so the median will be the average of the 4th and 5th ages in this ordered list.
Median age: (32+34)/2 = 33
Therefore, the median age of the group of friends is 33 years.