Advance Statistics: Self-Learning Module for College Students 1

Advance Statistics: Self-Learning Module for College Students 1

Module 3 Measures of Central Tendency

Module Overview
Descriptive statistics often involves using a few numbers to summarize a
distribution. One important aspect of a distribution is where its center is located. Measures
of central tendency are discussed first. A second aspect of a distribution is how spread out
it is. In other words, how much the numbers in the distribution vary from one another.
In this module we will recall the different measures of central tendency and how to
interpret the shape of a distribution based on the relationship of its central measures.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module you shall be able to:
1. define what central tendency is;
2. calculate the mean, median and mode of ungrouped data;
3. calculate the mean, median and identify the mode in a tallied data;
4. calculate the mean, median and mode of grouped data; and
5. determine the skewness of a distribution.

Pre-Assessment
Before you begin this module, you must have answered first the Pre-
Assessment posted in Google Classroom. If you are unable to connect to
Google Classroom you can access the Pre-Assessment by using this link:
https://bre.is/uoXn5fUW or by scanning the QR Code presented. You can
access the Pre-Assessment using your laptop or your mobile devices.

Discussion
A measure of central tendency is a number that represents the typical value in a
collection of number. Three familiar measures of central tendency are the mean, median
and mode. We will define these three according to their applications on different type of
data distribution.

MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY FOR UNGROUPED (RAW) DATA

Mean
If we let n be the number of data values in a data set, the mean (represented by  x́) is
computed by adding all data values then dividing it by n.

x1 + x 2 + x3 + …+ x n Σ x
x́=¿ =
n n

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Example:
Find the mean of the given scores: 5, 6, 2, 4, 7, 8, 3, 5, 6, 6

Solution:

n=10, since there are 10 data values

5+6+2+ 4+7+ 8+3+5+6+ 6

x́=¿
10
52
=
10
= 5.2

The mean of the distribution is 5.2.

We can also use technology (MS Excel) in computing for the mean.

The first step is the encode the scores in a column.

Highlight all the data by click-dragging the mouse up to
the last cell with a data value.

Right click on the highlighted area for the Options menu.

Select Quick Analysis.

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On the Quick Analysis window select Totals, then click Average.

For newer versions of MS Excel you can skip some of the steps above just by clicking the
indicated button at the lower right end of your highlighted cells. This will bring up the
Quick Analysis window.

Median

The median is the “middle” data value when the data set is arranged in an order. The
symbol for the median is  ~
x (x-tilde). If the number of data values in a distribution is odd. In
even-numbered data distribution, the median is the sum of the two middle data values.

Example:
Find the mean of the given scores: 5, 6, 2, 4, 7, 8, 3, 5, 6, 6.

Solution:

To find the median, we should arrange the score in order. For our example, we arranged it
in an increasing order.

2 3 4 5 5 6 6 6 78

In this example n is even so we will determine the two middle values.

2 3 4 5 5 6 6 6 78
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The middle values are 5 and 6. Get the average of this two numbers to determine the
median of the distribution.

~ 5+6 11
x=¿ = = 5.5
2 2

The median of the scores is 5.5.

Just like the mean, we can also use MS Excel to compute for the median of ungrouped
scores. But for this we have to use to MEDIAN excel formula.

Select an empty cell. This cell can be anywhere within the Sheet but for convenience we can
always select an empty cell below data values. On this cell type =median(. After the
parenthesis select all data values by highlighting them, then close the formula with ). Press
enter and the median will appear on the selected cell.

Mode

In a distribution, the mode is the data value that occurs most often. A distribution
may have one or more modes, or none at all. If a distribution has only one mode, the
distribution is said to be unimodal, bimodal is two modes are present, trimodal for three or
polymodal if the distribution has more than three modes.

Example:
Find the and describe the mode of the scores 5, 6, 2, 4, 7, 8, 3, 5, 6, 6.

Solution:

Arrange the score in order and determine the value/s that occur/s most often.

2 3 4 5 5 6 6 6 78

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Since the data value 6 has the greatest number of occurrences, the mode of the distribution
is 6.

Example:
In a survey of 10 household, the number of children was found to be:

4, 1, 5, 4, 3, 7, 2, 3, 4, 1.

(a) State the mode.

(b) Calculate the mean and median of children per household.
(c) Calculate the probability that a household chosen at random from those in the
survey would have (i) exactly 4 children and (ii) more than 4 children.

Solution:

(a) Arranged in order, the mode is 4 as its frequency is highest.

1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 7

(b) The mean is

1+ 1+ 2+ 3+3+4 +4 +4 +5+7 34
x́=¿ = = 3.4
10 10

The median is

1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 7

~ 3+4 7
x=¿ = = 3.5
2 2
(c) The probability of selecting a household with exactly 4 children, Pn=4 is the ratio
between the occurrences of 4 (3 times) and the total number of data values (10).

3
Pn=4 = = 0.3
10

The probability of selecting a household with more than 4 children, Pn> 4 is the ratio
between number of data values greater than 4, which are 5 and 7 (2) and the total
number of data values (10).

2
Pn> 4 = = 0.2
10

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Activity 3.1: Measures of Central Tendency for Ungrouped Data

Twenty students were asked their shoe sizes. The results are given below.

1 1 1 1
8, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4 , 7 , 6 , 8 , 10
2 2 2 2

1 1
7, 5, 5 , 8, 9, 7, 5, 6, 8 , 6, 5
2 2

Calculate the mean, median and mode.

Mean from Tables, Tally Charts and Graphs

Often data are collected into tables or tally charts and graphs. This section considers
how to find the mean in such cases.
Example:

Your school soccer team keep records of the number of goals it scores per match
during the interschool competition. The list is shown below. Find the mean number of
goals.

No. of Goals (x) Frequency (f )

0 8
1 10
2 12
3 3
4 5
5 2

Solution:
Σ fx
For tabulated data we use the equation  x́=¿ , where x́=¿ the mean, Σ fx is the sum of
Σf
the product of the frequency and the data point, and Σ f is the sum of the frequencies. We
add a third column to our existing table. The additional column will hold the product of a
data point and its equivalent frequency (fx column).

x f fx
0 8 0 × 8=0
1 10 1 ×10=10
2 12 2 ×12=24
3 3 3 ×3=9
4 5 4 ×5=20

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5 2 5 ×2=10
Add the values in the f and fx column to get Σ f and Σ fx.

x f fx
0 8 0
1 10 10
2 12 24
3 3 9
4 5 20
5 2 10
Σ f =40 Σ fx=¿ 73

Solve the mean using the formula.

Σ fx 73
x́=¿ ¿ = 1.825
Σf 40

Example:
Find the median and the mode of the tabulated data in the example above.

For the median, we have to first find the location of the middle most data value. The middle
n+1 th
most data value is the ( )2
, where n is the total number of data values (n=Σ f ). The data
point containing this data value is the median. With should add a cumulative frequency
column for us to easily locate the median.

x f cf
0 8 8
1 10 18
2 12 30
3 3 33
4 5 38
5 2 40
Σ f =n=40

Locate the middle most data value.

n+1 40+1 41
middle most data value = = = = 20.5
2 2 2

The median is the 20.5th data value.

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To locate the data point containing this score refer to the cumulative frequency column.
n+1 th
The row which contains the nearest cumulative frequency higher than the
2( ) data
value has the median value.
x f cf
0 8 8
1 10 18
2 12 30
3 3 33 30 is the cf that
4 5 38 nearest to 20.5
5 2 40
Σ f =n=40

The median of the tabulated data is 2.

For the mode, locate the row with the highest frequency and the data point of that row is
the mode.

x f
0 8
1 10
2 12
3 3
4 5
5 2

The mode of the tabulated data value is 2.

Activity 3.2: Measures of Central Tendency for Tabulated Data

A police station kept records of the number of road traffic accidents in their area each
day for 100 days. The table below give the number of accidents per day.

No. of Accidents Frequency

0 4
1 10
2 22
3 23
4 16
5 17
6 6
7 1
8 1

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Calculate the mean, median and mode.

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Example:
The bar chart shows how many cars were sold by a salesman over a period of time.
7
6
5
Frequency

4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Cars sold per day

Find the mean, median and mode.

Solution:

There are two ways in which you can solve the mean for this problem. One is to translate
the graph into a tabulated data then following the steps provided in the previous section.
Second is to compute directly using the information in the graph. For the second method,
the mean is computed the adding the “area” of each bar then dividing it by the total number
of data values n. The first step, therefore is to identify n. In our example n=20. Computing
the area of each bar is simply multiplying the horizontal and vertical components of each
bar.

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7
3 ×6=18
6

4
Frequency

0
0 1 2 3 4 5

Cars sold per day

1 ×4=4

2 ×3=6 4 ×3=12

0 ×2=0 5 ×2=10

The mean is:

0+4 +6+18+12+10 50
x́=¿ = = 2.5
100 20

The salesmen sold an average of 2.5 cars.

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For the median, locate the middle most value by using ( n+12 ). Once the middle most value
th
n+1
is computed, count unit areas in each bar until the (
2 )
value was determined.

Middle most value = ( n+12 ) = ( 20+1

2 ) =
21
2
¿ 10.5

We will now locate the 10.5 data value.

4
Frequency

0
0 1 2 3 4 5

Cars sold per day

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Since the 10.5 value is in the “3” data point, the median of the graph is 3.

For the mode, the data point which has the “tallest” bar in the graph represents the mode.
In our example the “tallest” bar is at the “3” data point, hence, the mode is 3.

Activity 3.3: Measures of Central Tendency for Data in a Graph

17 The
16
graph
below
15
shows
14 the
13 score
12 of
11
10
Frequency

9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Scores

students in a Mathematics test. Compute the mean, median and mode for the given data.

Central Tendency for Grouped Data

When actual data is unavailable or of an unmanageable volume, it may be necessary to

determine the parameters and statistics using frequency distribution. In this section we
will determine the mean, median and mode of grouped data.

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Example:
The following table gives the frequency distribution of the number of orders
received each day during the past 50 days at the office of a mail-order company. Calculate
the mean, median and mode.

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Number of
f
Orders
10 – 12 4
13 – 15 12
16 – 18 20
19 – 21 14
Σ f =50

Σ fX
The mean is computed using the equation   x́=¿ , where Σ fX is the sum of the product
n
of the frequencies and the midpoints of each class and n is the total number of data values.
For our example, we need to add the Class Midpoint or the X column and the fX column
containing the product of f and X .

Number of
f X fX
Orders
10 – 12 4 11 44
13 – 15 12 14 168
16 – 18 20 17 340
19 – 21 14 20 280
Σ f =n=50 Σ fx=832

The mean of the distribution is:

Σ fX 832
x́=¿ = = 16.64
n 50

For the median use the equation:

n
~ L
x=¿ m +¿ 2
( )
−F
fm
i

where:
Lm=¿ lower boundary (lower limit – 0.5) of the median class
n = total number of data value (n=Σ f )
F = cumulative frequency before the median class
i = class width

For the median, we need to add the cumulative frequency column. In locating the median
n
class, we will find the nearest cumulative frequency equal or greater to . The class which
2
contains this value is the median class. Locating the median class we have:

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n 50
= = 25
2 2
The median class is located at the class whose cf is nearest and greater than 25 which is 36.

Number of
f cf
Orders
10 – 12 4 4
13 – 15 12 16
Median Class 16 – 18 20 36
19 – 21 14 50
Σ f =50

Once the median has been located, we can now determine the other variables for our
formula.
Cumulative
Lower Limit of Number of
f cf frequency
the median Orders
before the
class. Subtract 10 – 12 4 4
13 – 15 12 16 median class,
0.5 to get Lm. F.
16 – 18 20 36
Lm=15.5 19 – 21 14 50
Σ f =50
Frequency of
i=3 the median
n class, f m
=25
2
Lm=15.5
F=16
f m=20
The median of the distribution is:

n
~
x=¿ Lm +¿ 2
−F
fm ( )
i

= 15.5+¿ ( 25−16
20 )
3

9
= 15.5 + ( )3
20
= 15.5 + (0.45)3

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= 15.5 + 1.35
= 16.85
The mode is computed using the equation:
Δ1
M o=Lo + ¿
( Δ 1+ Δ2)i

where:
Lo=¿ lower boundary of the modal class
Δ 1 = difference between the frequency of the modal class and the frequency of the
class after the modal class.
Δ 2=¿ difference between the frequency of the modal class and the frequency of the
class after the modal class.
i=¿ class width

Like the mean, we need to determine first the location of the modal class. The modal class is
the class with the highest frequency.

Number of
f
Orders
10 – 12 4
13 – 15 12
Modal Class 16 – 18 20
19 – 21 14
Σ f =50

Once the modal class has been located, we can now determine the other variables needed
to solve the mode.

Lower Limit of Number of

f
the modal Orders
Δ 2=20−12=8
class. Subtract 10 – 12 4
0.5 to get Lo. 13 – 15 12
16 – 18 20
Lo=15.5 19 – 21 14
Σ f =50

Δ 1=20−14=6

Lo=15.5
i=3
Δ 1=6
Δ 2=8

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The mode of the distribution is:

Δ1
M o=Lo + ¿
( Δ 1+ Δ2)i

= 15.5 + ( 6+86 )3
6
¿ 15.5+¿ ( )3
14
= 15.5 + 0.43(3)
= 15.5 + 1.29
= 16.79

Activity 3.4: Measures of Central Tendency for Grouped Data

The grouped data below shows the result of a 50-item test. Compute the mean, median
and mode of the distribution.

Scores Frequency
1 – 10 8
11 – 20 14
21 – 30 12
31 – 40 9
41 – 50 7

Post-Assessment

Solve the following then send your solution (softcopy in WORD or PDF or picture in PNG or
JPG) to your instructor.

1. Find the mean, median, mode and range of each set of numbers below.
(a) 3, 4, 7, 3, 5, 2, 6, 10
(b) 8, 10, 12, 14, 7, 16, 5, 7, 9, 11
(c) 17, 18, 16, 17, 17, 14, 22, 15, 16, 17, 14, 12
(d) 108, 99, 112, 111, 108
(e) 64, 66, 65, 61, 67, 61, 57
(f) 21, 30, 22, 16, 24, 28, 16, 17

2. Two people work in a factory making parts for cars. The table shows how many
complete parts they make in one week.

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Worker Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Rachel 20 21 22 20 21
John 30 15 12 36 28
(a) Find the mean and range for Rachel and John.
(b) Who is more consistent?
(c) Who makes the most parts in a week?
3. A gardener buys 10 packets of seeds from two different companies. Each pack contains
20 seeds and he records the number of plants which grow from each pack.

(a) Find the mean, median and mode for each company's seeds.
(b) Which company does the mode suggest is best?
(c) Which company does the mean suggest is best?
(d) Find the range for each company's seeds.

4. Hannah is a sticker collector and usually buys them in pack. Hannah drew this bar chart
to show the number of repeated stickers she got when she opened packets of stickers.

Compute the mean, median and the mode.

5. The bar chart below shows the shoe sizes of a group of 50 children.

a. How many children wear a size 7 shoe?

b. How many children wear a shoe size smaller than size 7?

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c. Which shoe size is the modal size?

d. What is the median shoe size?
e. What is the probability that a child selected at random wears:
(i) a shoe size of 5?
(ii) a shoe size larger than 6?
f. Which of these two averages, the mode and the median, would be of greater interest
to the owner of a shoe shop who wishes to stock up on children's shoes? Give a
reason for your answer.

6. During 3 hours at Ninoy Aquino International Airport 55 aircrafts arrived late. The
numbers of minutes they were late is shown in the grouped frequency table below.

Minutes Late Frequency

0–9 27
10 – 19 10
20 – 29 7
30 – 39 5
40 – 49 4
50 – 59 2

Compute the mean, median and the mode.

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