Module 1 Lesson 2: MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY and

LOCATION

3.1 Measures of Central Tendency (MCT)

Measure of Central Tendency is one of the ways to numerically describe gathered
information. Perhaps we can consider part of the articles below for us to learn more about
some of the many uses of MCT. The given examples illustrates how can we apply concepts
of measure of central tendency specifically the mean and the mode.

i. COVID-19 FORECASTS IN THE PHILIPPINES: NCR and CEBU as of June 8, 2020

As of June 8, 2020, the data shows an escalation in new Covid-19 cases in the Philippines,
from an average of 222 new Covid-19 cases per day during Enhanced Community
Quarantine (ECQ) in NCR, to 375 new cases per day during Modified Enhanced Community
Quarantine (MECQ) in NCR, to 549 cases per day during General Community Quarantine
(GCQ) in NCR.
(https://www.up.edu.ph/covid-19-forecasts-in-the-philippines-ncr-and-cebu-as-of-june-8-
2020/)

ii. Gender of coronavirus COVID-19 positive cases Philippines 2020

As of April 2, 2020, there were 1,603 males and 1,030 female patients who had novel
coronavirus COVID-19 in the
Philippines. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1103213/philippines-novel-coronavirus-
covid-19-patients-by-gender/)

Definition: A measure of central tendency is any single value that is used to identify the
“center” of the data or the typical value. It is often referred to as the average.

1.2.1 The Arithmetic Mean

● The most common average and sometimes simply referred to as the mean
● The sum of all the values of the observations divided by the number of
observations
● Denoted by a Greek letter μ (mu) for population
● the sample mean, used to estimate the population mean μ, is computed as:
 ( )
n
x= ∑ ❑ Xi /n
i=1

Examples:
1. The numbers of employees at 5 different stores are 4, 8, 10, 12, and 6. Find the mean
number of employees for the 5 stores.
Solution:

(∑ )
5
❑ Xi
i=1 4 +8+10+12+6 40
x= = = =8
5 5 5

The mean number of employees for the 5 stores is 8.

2. Scores in the Mathematics in the Modern World for the first long quiz for a sample of 10
students are as follows: 84, 75, 90, 98, 88, 79, 95, 86, 93, and 89. What is the average
score in Algebra?
Solution:
84 +75+90+ 98+88+79+95+ 86+93+ 89
μ= =87.7
10

Therefore , the average score is87.7

3. For three rounds of golf Peter scores 88, 79, and 82. What fourth-round score would he
need to reduce his mean score to 81 for all rounds?
Solution:

(∑ )
4
❑ Xi
i=1
x=
4

88+79+ 82+ X 4
81=
4

(81)(4 )=249+ X 4

324=249+ X 4

324−249= X 4

75=X 4

Therefore , the fourth−round score Peter need is75.

 3.2.1 The Median
● The positional middle of an array
● In an array, one-half of the values precede the median and one-half follow it

If N is odd:

μd =X (N +1)
2

If N is even:

X N +X N
+1
2 2
μd =
2

Examples:

1. Find the median of the given data set: 75, 75, 67, 71, 72
Solution:
Arrange the given data set in ascending order
X 1 =67 , X 2=71 , X 3=72 , X 4 =75 , X 5=75

μd =X ( 5+1 )= X 3=72
2

The average ( median ) is72.

2. Find the median of the set of numbers: 11, 25, 18, 79, 12, 13
Solution:
Arrange the given data set in ascending order
X 1 =11, X 2 =12, X 3 =13 , X 4 =18 , X 5=25 , X 6=79

X N +X N
+1
2 2
μd =
2

X6+X6
+1
2 2
¿
2

X3+ X 4
¿
2
 13+ 18
¿
2

μd =15.5

The average ( median ) is15.5 .

3.2.2 The Mode

● It is the observed value that occurs most frequently.
● It locates the point where the observation values occur with the greatest
density.
● It does not always exist, and if it does, it may not be unique. A data set is said
to be unimodal if there is only one mode, bimodal if there are two modes,
trimodal if there are three modes, and so on.
● It is not affected by extreme values.
● It can be used for qualitative as well as quantitative data.

Examples:

Identify the mode(s) of the following data sets.

Data Set 1. 2, 5, 2, 3, 5, 2, 1

Solution: Identify the most frequent observation/s

2 occurs thrice, 5 occurs twice, 3 occurs once, 1 occurs once

The most frequent observation is 2.

Therefore , Mode=2

Data Set 2. 2, 5, 5, 2, 2, 5, 1, 3, 5, 4, 2, 5, 5

Solution: Identify the most frequent observation/s

2 occurs four times, 5 occurs six times, 1 occurs once, 3 occurs once, 4 occurs once

The most frequent observation is 5.

Therefore , Mode=5

Data Set 3. 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4, 4, 5, 5

Solution: Identify the most frequent observation/s

 1 occurs three times, 2 occurs three times, 3 occurs three times, 4 occurs twice, 5
occurs twice

The most frequent observations are 1, 2 and 3.

Therefore , Mode are 1 , 2∧3

Data Set 4. Red, Blue, Blue, White, Yellow, Red, Green, Blue, Orange

Solution: Identify the most frequent observation/s

Red occurs twice, Blue occurs three times, White occurs once, Yellow occurs once,
Green occurs once, Orange occurs once

The most frequent observations is Blue.

Therefore , Modeis ¿

Practice Exercise 3.1

1. The grades of a student on seven examinations were 85, 96, 72, 89, 95, 82 and 85. Find
the student’s average grade.
2. The salaries of 4 employees were P12,000, P10,000, P15,000 and P18,000. What is the
average salary?
3. Out of 100 numbers, 20 were 5’s, 40 were 4’s, 35 were 6’s and 5 were 2’s. Find the
mean.
4. Find the median of the set of numbers:
5 3 7 3 8 2 1

5. A student received grades of 89, 72, 92 and 35. What is the mode of the given grades?

6. The reaction times of an individual to certain stimuli were measured by a psychologist to

be 0.23, 0.52, 0.25, 0.52, 0.26, 0.25, 0.39, and 0.22 seconds. Determine the modes of
the given reaction times.

7. The numbers of incorrect answers on a true-false test for 15 students were recorded as
follows: 2, 1, 3, 0, 1, 3, 6, 0, 3, 3, 5, 2, 1, 4, 2. Find the mean, median and mode.

8. The following are the response times in seconds of a smoke alarm after the release of
smoke from a fixed source: 12, 9, 11, 7, 9, 14, 6,10. Find the mode.

9. A bridge is designed to carry a maximum load of 150,000 pounds. Is the bridge

overloaded if it is carrying 18 vehicles having a mean weight of 4,630 pounds?
10. The average IQ of 10 students in Math is 114. If 9 of the students have IQ scores of 101,
118, 128, 106, 115, 99, 118, 109 and 125. What must be the other IQ?

3.2 Measures of Location or Fractiles

Measures of location or fractiles are values below which a specified fraction or

percentage of the observations in a given set must fall and some board exam results are
based on this, specifically percentile. Let’s say a board passer has a percentile rating of
93%, it doesn’t mean that he was able to get 93% of the correct answer. This just
indicate that his score in the board exam is above the score of 93% of all board
examinees.

3.2.1 Percentiles

Percentiles are values that divide a set of observations in an array into 100 equal
parts. Thus, P1, read as first percentile, is the value below which 1% of the values fall, P2,
read as second percentile, is the value below which 2% of the values fall,….., P99, read as
ninety-ninth percentile, is the value below which 99% of the values fall.

Formula:

Pi=the value of the (

i(n+1) th
100 )
observation ∈the array

Example: The following were the scores of 10 students in a short quiz:

2 8 6 9 7 5 8 10 10 1

Find the 64th percentile.

Solution:

First, arrange the data from lowest to highest.

 1 2 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 10

Next, identify the location of the given percentile

( )
th
64(10+ 1)
P64 = observation = 7.04 or the 8th observation
100

Therefore , the 64 th percentile is 9 , which isinterpreted as :64 % of the scores are below 9.

Other forms of fractiles:

3.2.2 Deciles

Deciles are values that divide the array into 10 equal parts. Thus, D1, read as first
decile, is the value below which 10% of the values fall, D2, read as second decile, is the
value which 20% of the values fall,…, D9 , read as ninth decile, is the value below which 90%
of the values fall.

Formula:

( ) observation∈the array
th
i ( n+1 )
D i isthe value of the
10

Example: From the given set of scores in a quiz, find the 4th decile or D 4 .

3 8 9 11 12 18 19

Solution: Since the data is already arranged from lowest to highest then we may proceed in
finding the 4th decile.

3 8 9 11 12 18 19

( ) observation=3.2∨the 4 observation
th
4 ( 7+1 ) th
D4 =
10
th
Therefore , the 4 decile is 11, this implies that :40 % of the scores∈the quiz are below 11.

3.2.3 Quartiles

Quartiles are values that divide the array into 4 equal parts. Thus, Q 1, read as first
quartile, is the value below which 25% of the values fall,.., Q3, read as third quartile, is the
value which 75% of the values fall.

Example: From the given set of scores in a quiz, find the 3rd quartile or Q3.
 3 8 9 11 12 18 19

Solution: Since the data is already arranged in ascending order, then we may proceed in finding
the 3rd quartile.

3 8 9 11 12 18 19

( )
th
3(7+1)
Q 3= observation=6 th observation
4
rd
Therefore , the3 quartile is18 , this implies that :75 % of the scores∈the quiz are below 18.

Practice Exercise 3.2

1. A psychologist obtained the IQ scores of 10 students. The IQ scores are as follows:

110 95 85 140 132 100 95 70 85 100
Find P65 , D3 , D9 ,∧Q3. Interpret the values.
2. The number of absences in a semester of 25 randomly selected students were obtained
by a teacher: The number of absences were as follows:
3 5 2 6 3 8 2 3 6 2 1
3 8 5 2 1 3 1 0 2 0 1
2 0 0
Find Q2 , P 95 ,∧D 2 . Interpret the results.

SUPPLEMENTAL VIDEOS FOR CHAPTER 3.

To have additional understanding of measures of central tendency and how to compute

it using EXCEL please visit the following sites;

https://youtu.be/mk8tOD0t8M0
https://youtu.be/H-nCAPO7VVU

https://youtu.be/QkPPyOmhVD4

https://youtu.be/F5CMQuvlWXE

https://youtu.be/M-EntngEgo4

For measures of location you may check on the following:

https://youtu.be/mDJvDRvvDXo

https://youtu.be/tVdpjBCThsE

ANSWER TO PRACTICE EXERCISES IN CHAPTER 3.

Practice Exercise 3.1:

1.a. -46 1.b. 13 2.a. -7 2.b. -1 3.a. 20 3.c. 0

Practice Exercise 3.2:

1. Average grade = 86.29

2. Average salary = P13750

3. Mean = 4.8

4. Median = 3

5. Mode = none

6. Mode = 0.52 and 0.25

7 . Mean = 2.4, Median = 2, Mode = 3

8. Mode = 9

9. No.

10. 121

Practice Exercise 3.3:

1. P65 =110 65% of the IQ scores falls below 110

D 3=95 30% of the IQ scores falls below 95
D 9=140 90% of the IQ scores falls below 140
Q3=132 75% of the IQ scores falls below 132

2. Q2=2 50% of the number of absences in a semester falls below 2

P95 =8 95% of the number of absences in a semester falls below 8
D 2=1 20% of the number of absences in a semester falls below 1