Analyzing the Setup
We are given a set of eight numbers: 3,5,7,2k,12,16,21,24. Since the number of observations is n=8, the median M is the average of the two middle terms.
Assuming the data is ordered, the 4th and 5th terms are 2k and 12. Therefore, the median is defined as:
The Master Equation
The mean deviation about the median is given as 6. The formula for mean deviation is:
Multiplying by n=8, we find that the sum of absolute deviations is 48:
Expanding the Sum
Expanding the summation for our specific set of numbers, we have:
∣3−M∣+∣5−M∣+∣7−M∣+∣2k−M∣+∣12−M∣+∣16−M∣+∣21−M∣+∣24−M∣=48
Because the data is sorted, the first four terms are less than or equal to M, and the last four are greater than or equal to M. We can remove the absolute value bars by changing the signs accordingly:
(M−3)+(M−5)+(M−7)+(M−2k)+(12−M)+(16−M)+(21−M)+(24−M)=48
Final Calculation
Observe the symmetry: the M terms cancel out completely. This leaves us with the following expression:
(12+16+21+24)−(3+5+7+2k)=48
Calculating the sums, we obtain:
Solving for 2k, we find 2k=10. Substituting this value back into our median formula:
The final median of the set is 11.