A fish hatchery has three tanks for holding fish before they are introduced into the wild. Ten fish weighing less than ounces are placed in tank A. Eleven fish weighing at least ounces but no more than ounces are placed in tank B. Twelve fish weighing more than ounces are placed in tank C. Which of the following could be the median of the weights, in ounces, of these fish?
Explanation
Choice B is correct. The median of a set of numbers is the middle number when the values in the set are ordered from least to greatest. There are fish, so in an ordered list of the weights, the th value would be the median weight. The fish in tank A weigh the least, and these weights would be the first values on the ordered list. The fish in tank B have the next set of higher weights, and so would be the th through st weights in the ordered list which includes the median weight as the th value. The fish in tank B weigh at least ounces but no more than ounces; of the given choices, only ounces falls within this range of values.
Choice A is incorrect. It's given that tank A has ten fish weighing less than ounces Since there are more than ten fish in tanks B and C combined, the median weight cannot be less than ounces. Choice C and D are incorrect. It's given that tank C has twelve fish weighing more than ounces. There are more than twelve fish in tanks A and B combined, so the median weight can't be more than ounces.