Mean and median are two important measures of central tendency used in Business Mathematics and Statistics to represent a typical or central value of a set of sales figures. They help a business manager understand the general level of sales and make comparisons between different periods, products, branches, or salespersons. The mean gives the arithmetic average of the sales values, whereas the median gives the middle value after the sales figures have been arranged in ascending or descending order. For example, suppose the sales of a business for seven days are ₹20,000, ₹25,000, ₹18,000, ₹30,000, ₹22,000, ₹28,000 and ₹24,000. To calculate the mean sales, the formula for an arithmetic mean is: Mean = ΣX / N where ΣX represents the sum of all sales values and N represents the number of observations. First, arrange the given information in a systematic form: | Day | Sales (₹) | | --- | --------: | | 1 | 20,000 | | 2 | 25,000 | | 3 | 18,000 | | 4 | 30,000 | | 5 | 22,000 | | 6 | 28,000 | | 7 | 24,000 | The total sales are: ΣX = 20,000 + 25,000 + 18,000 + 30,000 + 22,000 + 28,000 + 24,000 ΣX = ₹167,000 The number of observations is: N = 7 Therefore, Mean = 167,000 / 7 Mean = ₹23,857.14 approximately. Thus, the average daily sales are approximately ₹23,857.14. The median is calculated by first arranging all the observations in ascending or descending order. The sales figures in ascending order are: ₹18,000, ₹20,000, ₹22,000, ₹24,000, ₹25,000, ₹28,000, ₹30,000 Since there are seven observations, the position of the median is given by: Median position = (N + 1) / 2 = (7 + 1) / 2 = 8 / 2 = 4th