Which term describes the middle value of a data set when arranged in ascending order?

The term that describes the middle value of a data set when arranged in ascending order is the median. When data is sorted from least to greatest, the median effectively divides the data into two equal halves. If there is an odd number of values in the data set, the median is simply the middle number. In cases where there is an even number of values, the median is calculated by taking the average of the two middle values. This measure is particularly useful because it is not affected by extreme values or outliers, providing a more accurate reflection of the central tendency within a data set compared to other measures like the mean.

In contrast, the mean is the average of all values in a data set and can be skewed by outliers, making it less representative in such cases. The mode refers to the value that appears most frequently in the data set, which may not reflect the middle value at all. The range represents the difference between the highest and lowest values in the data set, rather than a measure of central tendency. Thus, the median is the most appropriate term for identifying the middle value within a sorted data set.