ISO 9001:2015

TÜV-R 01 100 1934918 Republic of the Philippines

CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur 4418
www.cbsua.edu.ph

MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

WHAT IS A MEASURE OF CENTRAL TENDENCY?

It is a single value that describe the centralness of a given data . When the data is arranged according to
magnitude this measure tend to lie at the center. It is also known as measure of position or average.

Commonly Used Measure

1. Mean

2. Mode

3. Median

4. Quantiles

A. MEAN – is the sum of the values divided by the total number of values or items
i.e.

a. For Ungrouped Data:

EXAMPLE FOR UNGROUPED DATA

1. A student scored 80%, 72%, 50%, 64% and 74% marks in five subjects in an examination. Find the
mean percentage of marks obtained by him.

Solution:

Here, observations in percentage are

x1 = 80, x2 = 72, x3 = 50, x4 = 64, x5 = 74.

Therefore, their mean = (x1 + x2 + x3 + x4 + x5)/5

= (80+72+50+64+74)/5

= 340/5

Page 1 of 20
 ISO 9001:2015
TÜV-R 01 100 1934918 Republic of the Philippines
CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur 4418
www.cbsua.edu.ph

= 68.

Therefore, mean percentage of marks obtained by the student was 68%.

2. The mean of 6 variates is 8. Five of them are 8, 15, 0, 6, 11. Find the sixth variate.

Solution:
Let the sixth variate be a. Then by definition,

Mean = (x1 + x2 + x3 + x4 + x5 + x6)/6

= (8+15+0+6+11+a)/6

According to the problem,

(40+a)/6 = 8

⟹ 40 + a = 48

⟹ a = 48 - 40

⟹a=8
Therefore, the sixth variate = 8.

b. For Grouped Data

EXAMPLE FOR GROUPED DATA

Page 2 of 20
 ISO 9001:2015
TÜV-R 01 100 1934918 Republic of the Philippines
CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur 4418
www.cbsua.edu.ph

fiXi
x́ = ∑n
1314.0
= 36

= 36.5

Page 3 of 20
 ISO 9001:2015
TÜV-R 01 100 1934918 Republic of the Philippines
CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur 4418
www.cbsua.edu.ph

x́ = A+
∑ fd ∗i = 28+ 16 ∗5 = 28 + 0.4 * 5 = 28 + 2 = 30
n 40

Page 4 of 20
 ISO 9001:2015
TÜV-R 01 100 1934918 Republic of the Philippines
CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur 4418
www.cbsua.edu.ph

WEIGHTED MEAN

- The weighted average formula is used to calculate the average value of a particular set of numbers with
different levels of weight.

Calculation of Weighted Mean (Step by Step)

Step 1: List the numbers and weights in tabular form. Presentation in tabular form is not compulsory but
makes the calculations easy.

Step 2: Multiply each number and relevant weight assigned to that number (w 1 by x1, w2 by x2, and so on)

Step 3: Add the numbers obtained in Step 2 (∑x 1wi)

Step 4: Find the sum of the weights (∑wi)

Step 5: Divide the total of the values obtained in Step 3 by the sum of the weights obtained in Step 4
(∑x1wi/∑wi)

EXAMPLE:

1. A class of 25 students took a science test. 10 students had an average (arithmetic mean) score of 80.
The other students had an average score of 60. What is the average score of the whole class?

Solution:

Step 1: To get the sum of weighted terms, multiply each average by the number of students that had
that average and then sum them up.

80 × 10 + 60 × 15 = 800 + 900 = 1700

Step 2: Total number of terms = Total number of students = 25

Step 3: Using the formula

weighted mean = sum of weighted terms

total number of terms

= 1700

Page 5 of 20
 ISO 9001:2015
TÜV-R 01 100 1934918 Republic of the Philippines
CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur 4418
www.cbsua.edu.ph

25
Answer: The average score of the whole class is 68.

2. For example, a student may use a weighted mean in order to calculate his/her percentage grade in a
course. In such an example, the student would multiply the weighing of all assessment items in the
course (e.g., assignments, exams, projects, etc.) by the respective grade that was obtained in each of the
categories. Consider a student with the following grades:

3. Alexia bought 6 puppies of the same breed at different pet store. Two of these puppies cost P2,500,
the other two at P2,800, one at P3,000 and the remaining one at P3,200. How much is the cost of each
puppy?

Weighted Mean = ∑WiXi = 2 (P2,500) + 2 (P2,800) + 1 (P3,000) + 1 (P3,200)

∑Wi 6
= P5,000 + P5,600 + P3,000 + P3,200
6
= P16800
6
= P2,800 each

3. A survey was conducted to determine the usefulness of messenger. The students were asked to rate
the usefulness using a 5 point likert scale with the following values:

1 – not useful
2 – slightly useful
3 – moderately useful
4 – useful
5 – very useful

Page 6 of 20
 The results were tabulated in a table as shown:

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEAN

1. It is an interval Statistics.

2. It is a computed average.

3 It is the value in a given aggregate which would be obtained if all the values were equal.

4. The sum of deviations on either side of the mean are equal; hence, the algebraic sum of the
deviation is equal zero.

5. It reflect the magnitude of every value.

6. An array has one and only one mean.

7. Means may be manipulated algebraically: means of subgroups may be combined when

properly weighted.

8. It may be calculated even when individual values are unknown, provided the sum of the
values and the sample size n are known.

9. Values need not be ordered or grouped for this calculation.

10. It cannot be calculated from a frequency table when ends are open.

11. It is stable in that grouping procedures do not seriously affected it.

ADVANTAGES OF THE MEAN

1. It is simple to understand and easy to calculate.

2. It is rigidly defined.

3. It is suitable for further algebraic treatment.

4. It is least affected by the fluctuation in sampling.

Page 7 of 20
 5. It considers all the values in a given data.

DISADVANTAGES OF THE MEAN

1. It is highly affected by the presence of a few of abnormally high or abnormally low scores.

2. In absence of a single item, its value becomes inaccurate.

3. It cannot be determined by inspection.

B. MODE
- is the most frequently occurring value or the value with the highest frequency or number of
times it appeared.

i.e.

ungrouped data:

Mo = observation with the highest frequency

grouped data:

Mo = Lmo + i fmo - fb
---------------------
2fmo – fb - fa
where:

Lmo = LTCB of the modal class

i = interval

fmo = frequency of the modal class

fb = frequency of the class before the modal class

fa = frequency of the class after the modal class

modal class = class with the highest frequency

EXAMPLE:

Find the mode in the following data set:

1. 15, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10. 11 Mo =

2. 3, 4, 3, 6, 5, 3. 8. 9. 10 Mo =

3. 4, 6, 7, 4, 6, 8, 4, 6, 9. 12 Mo =

4. 9, 7, 8, 9, 7, 9, 8, 10, 15 , 18 Mo =

Page 8 of 20
 5. 11, 16, 20, 11, 16, 19, 20, 22, 28, 20 Mo =

6. apple, mango, banana, orange, banana, melon, banana, guava, banana

Mo =

7. Find the mode in the FDT:

Mo = 5.65 + 0.7 8- 2
-----------------
2(8) - 2 - 0

= 5.65 + 0.7 (8/(16 – 2))

= 5.65 + 0.7 ( 8/14)

= 5.65 + 0.7 ( 0.57)

= 5.65 + 0.40

= 6.05 ≈ 6.1

Page 9 of 20
 8. Find the mode in the FDT:

Mo = 4.5 + 4 9- 0
-----------------
2(9) - 0 - 4

= 4.5 + 4 (9/(18 – 4))

= 4.5 + 4 ( 9/14)

= 4.5 + 4 ( 0.64)

= 4.5 + 2.56

= 7.06 ≈ 7.1

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MODE:

1. It is a nominal Statistics.

2. It is an inspection average.

3. It is the most frequent value in the distribution; it is the point of greatest density.

4. The value of the mode is established by the predominant frequency, not by the value in the
distribution.

5. It is the most probable value, hence the most typical.

6. A distribution may have 2 or more modes. On the other hand, there is no mode in a
rectangular distribution.

7. The mode does not reflect the degree of modality.

8. It cannot be manipulated algebraically: modes of subgroups cannot be combined.

9. It is unstable that it is influenced by grouping procedures.

10. Values must be ordered and group for its computation.

11. It can be calculated when table ends are open.

ADVANTAGES OF THE MODE:

1. It is easy to understand and simple to calculate.

2. It is not affected by extremely large or small values.

3. It can be located just by inspection in ungrouped data and discrete frequency distribution.

Page 10 of 20
 4. It can be useful for qualitative data.

5. It can be computed in an open-end frequency table.

6. It can be located graphically.

DISADVANTAGES OF THE MODE:

1. It is not well defined.

2. It is not based on all the values.

3. It is stable for large values so it will not be well defined if the data consists of a small number
of values.

4. It is not capable of further mathematical treatment.

5. Sometimes the data has one or more than one mode and sometimes the data has no mode at
all.

C. MEDIAN
- is the middle value of an arranged data that divides a group of observations into two equal
parts such that 50% of the observations have values that are less than or equal to the median
and the remaining 50% of the observations have values that are more than or equal to the
median.

i. e.

ungrouped data:

Md = is the middle value of an odd numbered observations or the average of the two
middle

values of an even numbered observations:

grouped data:

Md = Lmd + i n/2 - Fb
------------------
fmd
where:

Lmd = LTCB of the median class

i = interval
n = total number of observations
Fb = sum of the frequencies of the classes before the median class or the <CF
of the class
before the median class
fmd = frequency of the median class

Page 11 of 20
 median class = class where the middle value or n/2 observation is found
EXAMPLE:

1. Find the median of:

2, 4, 6, 3, 8

Solution:

i) arrange the data first from lowest to highest

2, 3, 4, 6, 8

ii) find the middle value

iii) Since there are 5 observations, there is only one middle value therefore the median is 4

2. Find the median of:

6, 8, 3, 7, 4, 9

Solution:

i) arrange the data first from lowest to highest

3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9

ii) find the middle value

iii) Since there are 6 observations, there is two middle values 6 and 7 so to find the

median get the average of the two middle values therefore the median is 6.5

3. Find the median in the FDT:

Md = 3.55 + 0.7 30/2 - 10

-----------------

Page 12 of 20
 5
= 3.55 + 0.7 ((15 – 10)/5)

= 3.55+ 0.7 ( 5/5)

= 3.55 + 0.7 ( 1 )

= 3.55 + 0.7

= 4.25

4. Find the median in the FDT:

Mo = 8.5 + 4 25/2 - 9
------------------
4
= 8.5 + 4 ((12.5 – 9)/4)

= 8.5 + 4 (3.5/4)

= 8.5 + 4 (0.88)

= 8.5 + 3.52

= 12.02

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEDIAN:

1. It is an ordinal Statistics.

2. It is a position average.

3. It is the value of the middle point of the array (not midpoint of range), such that half the item
are above and half below it.

Page 13 of 20
 4. The value of the media is fixed by its position in the array and doesn't reflect the individual
value.

5. The aggregate distance between the median point and all the value in the array is less than
from any other point.

6. Each array has one and only one median.

7. It cannot be manipulated algebraically: medians of subgroups cannot be weighted and

combined.

8. It is stable in that grouping procedures do not affect it appreciably.

9. Value must be ordered, and may be grouped, for computation.

10. It can be compute when ends are open

11. It is not applicable to qualitative data.

ADVANTAGES OF THE MEDIAN:

1. It is very simple to understand and easy to calculate. In some cases it is obtained simply by
inspection.

2. Median lies at the middle part of the series and hence it is not affected by the extreme values.

3. It is a special average used in qualitative phenomena like intelligence or beauty which are not
quantified but ranks are given. Thus we can locate the person whose intelligence or beauty is
the average.

4. In grouped frequency distribution it can be graphically located by drawing ogives.

5. It is specially useful in open-ended distributions since the position rather than the value of
item that matters in median.

DISADVANTAGES OF THE MEDIAN:

1. In simple series, the item values have to be arranged. If the series contains large number of
items, then the process becomes tedious.

2. It is a less representative average because it does not depend on all the items in the series.

3. It is not capable of further algebraic treatment. For example, we can not find a combined

4. It is affected more by sampling fluctuations than the mean as it is concerned with only one
item i.e. the middle item.

5. It is not rigidly defined. In simple series having even number of items, median cannot be
exactly found. Moreover, the interpolation formula applied in the continuous series is based on
the unrealistic assumption that the frequency of the median class is evenly spread over the

Page 14 of 20
 magnitude of the class interval of the median group. median of two or more groups if the
median of different groups are given.

D. QUANTILES
- are natural extension of the median concept because just like the median it also divides a
group of observations into four, ten or one hundred equal parts.

TYPES:

1. Quartiles – divide a group of observations into 4 equal parts

2. Deciles – divide a group of observations into 10 equal parts

3. Percentiles – divide a group of observations into 100 equal parts

i. e.

ungrouped data:

Qj = j ( n + 1 ) th value of the observation for j = 1 to 3

4
Dj = j ( n + 1 ) th value for the observation for j = 1 to 9
10
Pj = j ( n + 1 ) th value of the observation for j = 1 to 99
100
where:

n = total number of observations

grouped data:

QUARTILES:

Qj = LQj + i j(n) – Fb
4
-------------------
fQj

where:
LQj = LTCB of the Qj class
i = interval
n = total number of observations
Fb = sum of the frequencies of the classes before the Qj class or the <CF of the
class
before the Qj class
fQj = frequency of the Qj class
Qj class = class where the j(n) / 4 observation is found
grouped data:

Page 15 of 20
DECILES:

Dj = LDj + i j(n) – Fb
10
----------------
fDj

where:

LDj = LTCB of the Dj class

i = interval

n = total number of observations

Fb = sum of the frequencies of the classes before the Dj class or the <CF of the
class

before the Dj class

fDj = frequency of the Dj class

Dj class = class where the j(n) / 10 observation is found

grouped data:

PERCENTILES

Pj = LPj + i j(n) – Fb
100
-------------------
fPj
where:

LPj = LTCB of the Pj class

i = interval

n = total number of observations

Fb = sum of the frequencies of the classes before the Pj class or the <CF of the
class
before the Pj class

fPj = frequency of the Pj class

Pj class = class where the j(n) / 100 observation is Found

1. Calculate Quartile-1, Deciles-3, Percentiles-20 from the following data

Page 16 of 20
 3,13,11,11,5,4,2

Solution:

Arranging Observations in the ascending order, We get :

2,3,4,5,11,11,13

Here, n = 7

Q1 = (7+1)/4 th value of the observation

Q1 = 8/ 4 th value of the observation

Q1 = 2nd value of the observation

Q1 = 3

D3 = (3(n+1))/10 th value of the observation

D3 = (3(7 + 1 ))/10 th value of the observation

D3 = 24/10

D3 = 2.4 th value of the observation

D3 = 2nd observation + 0.4[3rd-2nd]

D3 = 3 + 0.4[4-3]

D3 = 3 + 0.4(1)

D3 = 3 + 0.4

D3 = 3.4

P20 = (20(n+1))/100 th value of the observation

P20 = (20(8))/100 th value of the observation

P20 = 160/100 th value of the observation
P20 = 1.6 th value of the observation
P20 = 1st observation + 0.6[2nd-1st]
P20 = 2 + 0.6[3-2]
P20 = 2 + 0.6(1)
P20 = 2+0.6
P20 = 2.6

Page 17 of 20
2. Find the Q3, D7 and P65 in the FDT:

Q3 = 3(30)/4 = 90/4 = 22.5th

Q3 = 5.65 + 0.7 22.5 - 22

-----------------
8
Q3 = 5.65 + 0.7 (0.5/8)
Q3 = 5.65 + 0.7 ( 0.06)
Q3 = 5.65 + 0.04
Q3 = 5.69

D7 = 7(30)/10 = 210/10 = 21st

D7 = 4.95 + 0.7 21 - 20
-----------------
2
D7 = 4.95 + 0.7 (1/2)
D7 = 4.95 + 0.7 (0.5)
D7 = 4.95 + 0.35
D7 = 5.3

P65 = 65(30)/100 = 1950/100 = 19.5th

P65 = 4.25 + 0.7 19.5 - 15

-----------------
5
P65 = 4.25 + 0.7 (4.5/5)

Page 18 of 20
 P65 = 4.25 + 0.7 (0.9)
P65 = 4.25 + 0.63
P65 = 4.88

3. Find the Q2, D6 and P75 in the FDT:

Q2 = 2(25)/4 = 50/4 = 12.5th

Q3 = 8.5 + 4 12.5 - 9
-----------------
4
Q3 = 8.5 + 4 (3.5/4)
Q3 = 8.5 + 4 ( 0.88)
Q3 = 8.5 + 3.52
Q3 = 12.02

D6 = 6(25)/10 = 15/10 = 15th

D7 = 12.5 + 4 15 - 13
-----------------
5

D7 = 12.5 + 4 (2/5)
D7 = 12.5 + 4 (0.4)
D7 = 12.5 + 1.6
D7 = 14.1

P75 = 75(25)/100 = 1875/100 = 18.75th

P75 = 16.5 + 4 19.5 - 18

Page 19 of 20
 ---------------
4
P75 = 16.5 + 4 (1.5/4)
P75 = 16.5 + 4 (0.38)
P75 = 16.5 + 1.5
P75 = 18

Page 20 of 20