Mean, median and mode are three statistical measures commonly used to summarize data sets. They are known by the common name average. In its broadest sense, an average is simply any single value that is representative of many numbers. Averages are also called measures of central tendency because an average is usually located near the center of the data set. Some examples: average age of the players of a cricket team, average reaction time of a particular chemical, average amount spent by a customer in a shopping mall, etc.