6th Grade Math Textbook, Fundamentals

Sample Test Item

What is the median of these six monthly salaries:

$4000, $2800, $3200, $6200, $3200, $4600?

A.$3200 C.$3600

B.$3400 D.$4000

 &KDSWHU

Test Prep: Multiple-Choice Questions

Strategy: Understand Distractors

Distractors in multiple-choice questions often seem correct because
they are related to information given in the problem. Be sure to
answer the question askedwhen choosing your answer.

Test-Taking Tips

• Underline important words.


• Restate the question.


• Apply appropriate rules,
  definitions, or properties.


• Analyze and eliminate
  answer choices.

page 265 for exercise sets.

Choose the correct answer. Explain how you used strategies.

Read the whole test item carefully.

• Reread the test item, including all the answer choices.


• Underline important words.
  What is the median salary?
  The medianis the middle number in a set of ordered data.


• Restate the question in your own words.
  When the salaries are put in numerical order, what is the middle salary?

Solve the problem.

• Distinguish the median from the range, mode, and mean.


• Order the data. Find the median.
  $2800, $3200, $3200, $4000, $4600, $6200
  The median is $3200  2 $4000$3600.

Choose the answer.

• Analyze and eliminate answer choices. Watch out for distractors.

A.$3200 This is the mode of the data. Eliminate this choice.

B.$3400 This is the range of the data. Eliminate this choice.

C.$3600 This is the correct choice!

D.$4000 This is the mean of the data. Eliminate this choice.

1.What is the range of the data shown

in the box-and-whisker plot?

A. 16 C. 24

B. 20 D. 28

2.What is the least common multiple

of 8, 16, and 24?

F. 4 H. 48

G. 8 J. 192

20 24 28 32 36

Think

When there is an even number

of data, the median is the mean

of the two middle numbers.