Explanation

The median of an even-sized data set is the average of the two middle values after sorting, so the first step is to arrange the ten observations in ascending order: 1, 8, 12, 17, 21, 28, 35, 45, 54, 61. The 5th and 6th values are 21 and 28, so M = (21 + 28)/2 = 24.5. Then 2M + 5 = 2(24.5) + 5 = 49 + 5 = 54. None of the smaller options (12, 28, 52) match this computation, so the answer is (D) 54.