Measures of Central Tendency

Can be defined as a typical value of a set of data or observations where they tend to cluster. The three major
types of measures of central tendency are the mean, median, and the mode.
Mean – is simply the um of all the n values divide by the total frequency. It is denoted as x́ (read as x bar)
Mean for ungrouped data:
∑x
x́=
n

Where:
x = represents the value of an observation
n = represents the total number of observations.
Example 1: Find the mean of the set of values: 2,4,6,10 and 8
∑x
x́=
n

2+ 6+4 +10+8
5

30
5
=6

Example 1:
A professor gave five tests in statistical analysis. Bogart got the following scores in the first four tests: 85, 79,82
and 84. What must be her score in the fifth test so that her average is 83?
Solutions:
The sum of n scores is ∑ x=n x́
The sum of the five scores which gives an average of 83 is ∑ x=¿ 5(83) = 415
The sum of the first four scores is ∑ x = 85 + 79 + 82 + 84 = 330
Therefore, the score of the fifth test should be 415 – 330 = 85
Weighted Mean
There are some cases when values are given more importance than others. The mean derived in this case is
known as the weighted arithmetic mean. The formula used in the computation of the weighted arithmetic
mean is
∑ wx
w x́=
Σw
Where:
X = represents each of the item values
W = represents the weight of each item value
Example 2:

Subject No. of units (w) Grades (X) wx

1 5 2.25 11.25
2 3 2.75 8.25
3 4 3.00 12.00
4 3 1.25 3.75
5 1 2.00 2.00
6 2 2.00 4.00
18 41.25

Solution:
∑ wx
w x́=
Σw
41.25
=
18
w x́=2.29
Mean for grouped Data
Data which are arranged in a frequency distribution are called grouped data. It is best to compute the
measures of central tendency for grouped data using frequency distribution, especially when the number of
items it too large. There are two methods in computing for the mean of grouped data.
1. Midpoint method
2. Unit deviation method
Midpoint – in using midpoint method, the midpoint or class mark of each of the class intervals shall be
multiplied to their corresponding frequencies. The sum of the products is then divided by the total number of
frequencies. The formula for the men for grouped data is denoted by:
∑ fx
x́=
n
Where:
f = Frequency of each class interval
x = midpoint or class mark
n = total number of frequencies or sample size
Example 3:
The results of the I.Q tests of a group of psychology students in a certain college are presented in a frequency
distribution shown in table below. Compute the value of the mean using the midpoint method.

Class interval f
70-75 2
76-81 7
82-87 20
88-93 21
94-99 39
100-105 27
106-111 14
112-117 10
118-123 5
N = 145
Solution:
To calculate the mean, let us follow the steps and procedures enumerated below.
Step1: Get the midpoint or class mark of each of the class interval.

Class interval f x
70-75 2 72.5
76-81 7 78.5
82-87 20 84.5
88-93 21 90.5
94-99 39 96.5
100-105 27 102.5
106-111 14 108.5
112-117 10 114.5
118-123 5 120.5
n = 145
Step 2: Multiply each midpoint to the corresponding frequency of each class

Class interval f x fx
70-75 2 72.5 145.0
76-81 7 78.5 549.5
82-87 20 84.5 1,690.0
88-93 21 90.5 1,900.5
94-99 39 96.5 3,763.5
100-105 27 102.5 2,767.5
106-111 14 108.5 1,519.0
112-117 10 114.5 1,145.0
118-123 5 120.5 602.5
n = 145

Step 3: Find the sum of fx

Class interval f x fx
70-75 2 72.5 145.0
76-81 7 78.5 549.5
82-87 20 84.5 1,690.0
88-93 21 90.5 1,900.5
94-99 39 96.5 3,763.5
100-105 27 102.5 2,767.5
106-111 14 108.5 1,519.0
112-117 10 114.5 1,145.0
118-123 5 120.5 602.5
n = 145 14,082.50

Step 4: Compute the value of the mean by using the formula. Round off the results to the nearest hundredths.
∑ fx
x́=
n
14,082.50
=
154

= 97.12
Example 4: The frequency distribution of the test results of 100 BS Math Students in Statistical Analysis are as
follows:

Class interval f x fx
15-24 5 19.5 97.5
25-34 10 29.5 295.0
35-44 11 39.5 434.5
45-54 23 49.5 1,138.5
55-64 26 59.5 1,574.0
65-74 14 69.5 973.0
75-84 8 79.5 636.0
85-94 3 89.5 268.5
5,390.0

Find the value of the mean:

∑ fx
x́=
n
5,390
=
100

= 53.90
The second method of computing the value of the mean for grouped data is the unit deviation methof.

x́=x a +c ( ∑fdn )
Where:

xa = assumed mean (the midpoint of the class interval having the highest frequency)
f =frequency of each class
d = the unit deviation or interval size
c= class size of the class intervals or number of values in the class interval
n = total frequency or the sample size
Example 5: Find the mean of the data in the table below using the unit deviation method.

Class interval f
70-75 2
76-81 7
82-87 20
88-93 21
94-99 39
100-105 27
106-111 14
112-117 10
118-123 5
n = 145

Solutions:
Step 1: Identify the assumed mean. The assumed mean is the midpoint of the class interval 94-99. Therefore
x a=¿ 96.5

Step 2: Find the class size

c = (99-94) + 1
c=6
Step 3: Construct the unit deviation column, as follows,

Class interval f d
70-75 2 -4
76-81 7 -3
82-87 20 -2
88-93 21 -1
94-99 39 0
100-105 27 1
106-111 14 2
112-117 10 3
118-123 5 4
n = 145

Step 4: Multiply the data under column f to the data under column d of each of the class intervals and find the
sum of fd.

Class interval f d fd
70-75 2 -4 -8
76-81 7 -3 -21
82-87 20 -2 -40
88-93 21 -1 -21
94-99 39 0 0
 100-105 27 1 27
106-111 14 2 28
112-117 10 3 30
118-123 5 4 20
n = 145 ∑ fd=35

Step 5: Compute the mean using the unit deviation method, as follows.

∑fd
x́=x a +c ( )
n

15
= 96.5 + 6 ( )
145

x́=97.12

Example 6: Find the mean of the test results of 100 students in statistical analysis using the Unit deviation
method

Class Interval f d
15-24 5 -4
25-34 10 -3
35-44 11 -2
45-54 23 -1
55-64 26 0
65-74 14 1
75-84 8 2
85-94 3 3
n = 145 ∑ fd=−56

Solution:

x́=x a +c ( ∑fdn )
= 59.5 + 10 ( −56
100 )

x́=53.90
Hence, the two methods for solving the mean of grouped data yield the same value.

Calculating the weighted arithmetic mean of grouped data

The formula for calculating the weighted arithmetic mean of grouped data.
∑ wx
w x́=
∑w
Where:
w = weight of x
wx = product of weight and value of x

Example 7:
An achievement test in college algebra was administered to BS Math freshmen students in 3 colleges. Each of
the college heads computed his own mean using class size or interval size of 3, as shown below.
College A:

Class interval f d fd
18-20 3 -3 -9
21-23 4 -2 -8
24-26 3 -1 -3
27-29 5 0 0
30-32 4 1 4
33-35 4 2 8
36-38 2 3 6
39-41 2 4 8
n = 27 ∑ fd=1

x́=x a +c ( ∑fdn )
(6)
= 28 + 3 27

x́=28.67 (meanof students∈College A )

College B

Class interval f d fd
12-14 1 -5 -5
15-17 2 -4 -8
18-20 2 -3 -6
21-23 4 -2 -8
24-26 3 -1 -3
27-29 8 0 0
30-32 6 1 6
33-35 5 2 10
36-38 2 3 6
39-41 1 4 4
42-44 1 5 5
n = 35 ∑ fd=1
x́=x a +c ( ∑fdn )
= 28 + 3 35 (1)
x́=28.09(meanof students∈College B)
College C

Class Interval f d fd
15-17 1 -4 -4
18-20 0 -3 0
21-23 1 -2 -2
24-26 2 -1 -2
27-29 12 0 0
30-32 6 1 6
33-35 10 2 20
36-38 2 3 6
39-41 1 4 4
n = 35 ∑ fd=35

x́=x a +c ( ∑fdn )
( 28 )
= 28 + 3 35

x́=30.40(meanof students∈CollegeC )
Using the formula for weighted mean for the 3 colleges, we have:
∑ wx
w x́=
∑w

27(28.67)+35(28.09)+35(30.40)
= 27+35+ 35
774.09+ 983.15+1,064.00
= 97
2,821.24
= 97

w x́=29.08(mean of all students for 3 colleges)

The weighted mean of the 3 colleges can also be solved by the following procedures:
 1. Find the highest and lowest scores of all the students in the 3 colleges.
H.S = 44 L.S = 12

2. Prepare class intervals using a class size or class width of 3, considering all scores of the students in the
3 colleges.
3. Write the frequencies of the scores in step 3.
4. Find the total frequencies for each of the 3 colleges.
5. Compute the mean using the unit deviation or the midpoint.

Class interval College A College B College C Total (t) d fd x fx

(f) (f) (f) f
12-14 0 1 0 1 -5 -5 13 13
15-17 0 2 1 3 -4 -12 16 48
18-20 3 2 0 5 -3 -15 19 95
21-23 4 4 1 9 -2 -18 22 198
24-26 3 3 2 8 -1 -8 25 200
27-29 5 8 12 25 0 0 28 700
30-32 4 6 6 16 1 16 31 496
33-35 4 5 10 19 2 38 34 646
36-38 2 2 2 6 3 18 37 222
39-41 2 1 1 4 4 16 40 160
42-44 0 1 0 1 5 5 43 43
nA = 27 nB = 35 nC = 35 nt = 97 ∑ fd=35 ∑ fx=2,821

Using the midpoint method, we obtain:

∑ fx
x́=
nt
2, 821
= 97
x́=29.08
Using the unit deviation method, we shall have:

x́=x a +c ( ∑fdn )
= 28 + 3 97 ( 35 )
x́=29.08
Hence, using the above procedure also yield the same mean of 29.08 for the 3 colleges.
Median – is the center most observation that divides the data, arranged in either ascending or descending
order into halves. Half of the observations belongs to higher 50% group, while the other half (remaining 50%)
belongs to lower 50% of the group. It is denoted by ~x (reads as x- curl)

Median for Grouped Data

To find the value of the median, we arrange the observations from ascending to descending order or vice
versa. The observation found in the middle is the median.
Example 1: Find the median of the heights (cm.) of the 15 basketball players listed in table below.

181 205 189 185 190 191 191 201

194 187 187 188 183 202 188

Solutions:
Arrange the heights of the 15 players from the shortest to the tallest and identify the height of the middle
player.
181,183,185,187,187,188,188,189,190,191,191,194,201,202,205
Since there are 15 players in the team, then the eight (8th) observation is the median.
~
x=189

n+1
In all cases, if n is odd, the median of the observations corresponds to the th observation. Therefore;
2

~ n+1
x= if n isodd
2
This formula will give us the position of the median relative to the lowest score and the median itself.
n n+1
If n is even, the median is the average of th and th observations. The median is the average of the two
2 2
middle values.
x n+2
x n+
~ 2 2
x=
2
Example 2: Find the median of the following values: 36,40,12,16,23,25,50,38,45,17
Solution: Arranging the data from the highest to lowest values (or vice versa) we have:
12,16,17,23,25,36,38,40,45,50
Since there are 10 values, the median is the average between 10/2 = 5 th
10+2
Observation which is 25, and the = 6th observation which is 36. Hence the median is:
2
~ 5 th score+6 th score
x=
2

~ 25+36
x=
2
~
x=30.5

Please note that the median 30.5 is not found in the given set of observations. In a set of observations, the
mean and the median may or may not have the same value.

Example 3: Determine the median value for the following sets of data.
A = 23,17,41,12,14,40,36

Solution:
Arrange the values from the lowest to the highest as shown below:
A = 12,14,17,23,36,40 and 41
n+1
Since n = 7 ( odd) The formula is: ~
x=
2

Hence,

7 th+ 1
~
x=x ( 2 )
~ x 8 th
x=
2
~
x=23 ( Fourth score)
Example:
B = 21,23,25,19,18,30,22,26,27 and 20
Solutions:
There are 10 values, and 10 is an even number. Hence, the median is found by using the formula:
x n+2
x n+
~ 2 2
x=
2
x 10+2
x 10 +
~ 2 2
x=
2

~ x 5 th + X 6 th
x=
2
~
x=22.5
Hence, the median is the average of the 5th value = 2 and 6th value = 23

Median for the grouped data:

To compute the median of grouped data, we have to determine the value in which divides the distribution into
two equal parts. Thus, we have to calculate the “less than cumulative frequency” of the distribution.
The median of a grouped data is computed using the formula:

n
~
x=x lb +c ( )
2
−cfb
fm

Where:

Xlb = Lower class boundary of the median class

c = class size or interval size
cfb = less than cumulative frequency before the median class
n = number of observations or total number of frequencies
fm = frequency of the median class
Example: Find the median of the data in the table below.
 Class interval frequency < cf
70-75 2 2
76-81 7 9
82-87 20 29
88-93 21 50
94-99 39 89
100-105 27 116
106-111 14 130
112-117 10 140
118-123 5 145
n = 145

Solutions:
n
1. Get the median class. The median class is the class interval where the th item is contained.
2
n 145
2
= 2
= 72.5

2. Determine the value of the less than cumulative frequency before the median class.
cfb = 50

3. Determine the lower-class boundary of the median class, the frequency of the median class, and the
size of the class interval.

Xlb = 93.5
fm = 39
c=6

4. Substitute the values in the formula as shown below.

n
~
x=x lb +c ( )
2
−cfb
fm

= 93.5 + 6 ( 72.5−50
39 )

= 96.96