Mean vs Median Skewness

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About This MicroSim

Explore the relationship between the mean and median in different distribution shapes.

How to Use

• Click Symmetric, Right-skewed, or Left-skewed to see preset distributions
• Add outliers to see how they affect the mean (but not the median!)
• Observe how the relationship changes: Mean > Median, Mean < Median, or Mean ≈ Median

Key Insights

• Symmetric: Mean ≈ Median
• Right-skewed: Mean > Median (pulled toward the long right tail)
• Left-skewed: Mean < Median (pulled toward the long left tail)
• The median is resistant to outliers; the mean is not

Lesson Plan

Learning Objective

Students will predict the relative positions of mean and median based on distribution shape (Bloom's Taxonomy: Analyzing, Evaluating).