Overview and Objectives of the Module

This module is divided into four lessons namely:

1. Mean, Median and Mode of Ungrouped Data
2. Mean of Grouped Data
3. Median of Grouped Data
4. Mode of Grouped Data
At the end of each lesson, you will find the exercises designed for your own assessment of learning. In
particular, the exercises include:
1. Test your understanding
This exercise involves questions that require deep comprehension of the lesson. The form of test in
this exercise may include, but is not limited to, multiple test questions, modified true or false tests,
and yes or no questions that require the learner to justify his/her answer.

2. Do it yourself
This exercise requires the learners to produce an output (not necessarily tangible) based on the
concepts covered in the lesson. Technology and software may be involved in this exercise.
After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. Compare and contrast the mean, median, and mode.
2. Identify the most appropriate measure of central tendency to be used in describing a set of data.
3. Calculate the mean, median, and mode of a set of data.

LESSON 1 MEAN, MEDIAN, AND MODE

One of the most important tools of descriptive statistics is the concept of measures of central tendency or
measures of center. This concept allows to describe of a set of data by locating the center of a distribution. In
this lesson, we will explore the three most commonly used measures of central tendency: mean, median, and
mode.

DEFINITION
A measure of center is a value at the center or middle of a data set.
Notes:

 Measures of the central tendency of a set of data can be also called an average of that set of data.
 There are several ways of computing the measure of center (or average) of a set of data. The most
common measures are: mean, median, and mode.
 Being the measures of central tendency, when appropriately applied, we can locate the position where
the data are clustered around.
 The measures of central tendency (or averages) can also be used as representative of a set of data.
Let us now proceed to probably the most familiar measure of tendency: the mean.

DEFINITION
The mean of a set of data is the measure of the center found by adding the data values and
dividing the total by the number of data values. This can be computed using the formula:

x=
∑ of all data values
number of datavalues

Comments:

 Mean is generally considered as the most reliable measure of central tendency.

 Most people probably call mean as the average when in fact mean is just one of the averages.
 EXAMPLE 1
Consider the following data values:

21 10 36 42 39 52 30 25 26

Compute for the value of the mean.

Solution:
Looking at the given set of data, we can see that there are nine (9) data values. Applying the formula in
the definition, we have:
21+10+36+ 42+ 39+52+30+25+26
x= =31.22
9
Hence, the mean of the set of data is 31.22.

EXAMPLE 2
The ages of 15 students in a certain class were taken and shown as follows:
15 18 17 16 19 21 18 23 24 18 16 17 20 21 19

Determine the mean age of the students.

Solution:
Knowing that there are 15 students into consideration, we have 15 data values. Thus,
15+18+17+16+ 19+21+18+23+24+ 18+16+17+20+ 21+ 19
x= =18.80
15
Thus, the mean age of the 15 students is 18.80.

Further comments about the mean:

We
 In the two examples presented, we can see that we are taking all the data values into have a term
account in computing for the mean. for too large
 In other words, if we change one of the data values in the set, we also change the or too small
mean of that data set.
values of a
 It follows that if one of the values gets larger, then the mean also gets larger. Similarly,
data sets.
if one of the data values gets smaller, then the mean also gets smaller.
 This is problematic if some of the data values are too large or too small. These too
large or too small values can drag the mean to the point that it no longer be an
effective measure of central tendency.
DEFINITION

The outliers are the extreme value(s) of data set. They are too large or too small data values.

Comments:

 The mean is sensitive to outliers. It very important to know if there are outliers in a set of data. The
outliers can make the mean an ineffective measure of central tendency.
To illustrate the effect of outliers to the mean, let us have the following examples.

EXAMPLE 3
In example 2, these are the ages of the 15 students:
15 18 17 16 19 21 18 23 24 18 16 17 20 21 19
Let us replace the first value (i.e. 15) and second value (i.e. 18) as 70 and 75 respectively. This
leads to a new set of data as:

70 75 17 16 19 21 18 23 24 18 16 17 20 21 19
Comments:

 In rare cases, it is possible for a student to have an age of 70 and 75.

 This illustrates why outliers are extraordinary values that can affect the mean of the distribution.
Solution:
70+75+17+16+ 19+21+18+23+24+ 18+16+17+20+ 21+ 19
x= =26.27
15
 As you can see, the mean is dragged to 26.27 because of the presence of two high values. 26.27 as
you know (intuitively), does not reflect the center age of the students in that set of data.
Let us have another example that illustrates the effect of extreme values to the mean.

EXAMPLE 4
The following are the scores of 10 students in a 100 – item examination in Mathematics.

85 78 90 80 17 91 81 81 77 83
Compute for the mean of the scores of the students.
Comments:

 Obviously 17 is the outlier in the distribution. It is an extremely low score.

Solution:
85+78+ 90+ 80+17+ 91+ 81+ 81+ 77+83
x= =76.3
10
Hence, the mean is 76.3. I would like you to reflect and see whether 76.3 truly reflects the center of the
distribution.
Let us have the same example. This time, let us try to remove the outlier.

EXAMPLE 5
Compute for the mean of the following scores:

85 78 90 80 91 81 81 77 83
Solution:
85+78+ 90+ 80+91+81+81+77+ 83
x= =82.89
9
Hence, the mean of the distribution is 82.89. I would like you to reflect whether 82.89 is a more sensible
center of the distribution (compared to 76.3).
Suppose we would like to deal with outliers by means of another measure of central tendency. In this
case, we will have the concept of the median.

DEFINITION

The median of a data set is the measure of center that is the middle value when the original data values are
arranged in order of increasing (or decreasing) magnitude. The median is denoted by ~x.
Comments:

 Unlike the mean, the median is more resistive to the effects of the outliers. In other words, median is
more effective measure of central tendency when a distribution contains outliers.
 The median of a distribution may be unchanged even if one of the data values is changed.
 In determining the median of a distribution, it is important to check first if the data values are arranged
in increasing or decreasing order.

EXAMPLE 6
Consider the set of data presented in Example 3. The following are the ages of 15 students.

70 75 17 16 19 21 18 23 24 18 16 17 20 21 19

Determine the median.

Solution:
The first thing to do is to arrange the data values in increasing (or decreasing) order. In this case, let us
arrange the data in increasing order. The arrangement is shown below:

16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 21 21 23 24 70 75

Looking at the arrangement above, let us look for the middlemost value. In this case, we see that 19 is
the middlemost value.
 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 21 21 23 24 70 75

Middlemost value

Thus, the median of the set of data is 19. Try to reflect if 19 is a more sensible center (compared to
26.27).
Let consider the set of data in Example 2.

EXAMPLE 7
Consider the set of data presented in Example 2. The following are the ages of 15 students.

15 18 17 16 19 21 18 23 24 18 16 17 20 21 19

Determine the median.

Let us rearrange the data in increasing order:

15 16 16 17 17 18 18 18 19 19 20 21 21 23 24

As you can see, the middlemost value is 18.

15 16 16 17 17 18 18 18 19 19 20 21 21 23 24

Middlemost value

Therefore, the median of the set of data is 18.

Comments:

 Looking at Examples 6 and 7, we see that the outliers have minimal effect on the median.
Let us look at the case where there are even number of data values.

EXAMPLE 8
The following are the scores of 10 students in a 100 – item examination in Science.

86 78 90 80 71 91 93 81 77 83
Determine the median.
Comments:

 Unlike in Examples 6 and 7 where there are 15 (hence, odd number) data values, it is not
straightforward to spot the median if the number of data values is even. In this case, we have 10 data
values.
Solution:
First, let us arrange the data in increasing order.

71 77 78 80 81 83 86 90 91 93
As you can see, there are two middle values in the set. These are 81 and 83.

71 77 78 80 81 83 86 90 91 93

Middle values

In this case, let us take the two values and then get the midpoint. Recall the midpoint formula in Module 1 –
Lesson 3. That midpoint will be the median of the set of data. Thus,

~ 81+83
x= =82
2
Therefore, the median is 82.

EXAMPLE 9
The NCEE scores of 12 students in a certain college were taken and are shown below.

93 65 87 56 99 76 58 87 85 93 68 69
 Determine the median.
Solution:
First, let us arrange the data in increasing order.

56 58 65 68 69 76 85 87 87 93 93 99

Looking at the arrangement above, we see that the middle values are 76 and 85.

56 58 65 68 69 76 85 87 87 93 93 99

Taking two those values to get the midpoint we have:

~ 76+85
x= =80.5
2
Therefore, the median is 80.5.
All of our examples so far deal with quantitative data. The natural question that can be raised at this
point is: Can we have a measure of central tendency when the data are qualitative especially the
nominal data?
Here are the key points:

 The computation of mean requires us to add and then divide. Both involve meaningful mathematical
operations that are NOT applicable to qualitative data.
 The identification of median requires us to arrange the data in increasing (or decreasing order).
However, we learned that in the nominal level of measurement, there is no meaningful arrangement.
Thus, both mean and median cannot be used as measure of central tendency when the set
contains nominal data.
In the case of nominal data, we will have the third measure of central tendency: mode.

DEFINITION

Mode is referred to as the most frequent data point in a distribution. It is denoted by ^x .

Comments:

 There are instances where the mode of a distribution may not exist. It happens when all of the data
points occur equally in a distribution.
 There are instances where we can have more than one mode. This is different from the case of mean
and median since for every distribution, there is only one mean and only one median.

EXAMPLE 10
Suppose that 10 students were asked about their favorite color. Their responses as the following:

Red Green Yellow Blue Green White Black Violet Orange Brown
Determine the mode.
Solution:
Looking at the given data set, the color Green occurs twice while the rest of the colors occurs only once. Thus,
Green is the most frequent color.
It follows that the mode is Green.

EXAMPLE 11
Fifteen (15) students were interviewed about the their most favorite subject. Their responses were
recorded and shown below:

Science Araling Panlipunan

Science Filipino
English TLE
Mathematics MAPEH
Araling Panlipunan Araling Panlipunan
Science English
Filipino Computer.
Mathematics
 Determine the mode.
Solution:
If we look at the data, we can see that the occurrences of each subject can be summarized below:

Subjects Number of Occurrences

Science 3
English 2
Mathematics 2
Araling Panlipunan 3
Filipino 2
TLE 1
MAPEH 1
Computer 1
As you can see Science and Araling Panlipunan are the most frequent subjects. Thus, the modes are
Science and Araling Panlipunan.
Comment:

 Example 11 illustrates that it is possible for a distribution to have more than one mode.

EXAMPLE 12
The following are the ages of the first 11 students enrolled in ABC College.

19 21 18 17 16 22 24 25 20 23 26
Determine the mode.
Solution:
If you look closely to the set of data, you will see that no data point occurs more than the other. In fact,
each age in the given set of data occurs only once. Therefore, the distribution has no mode.
Comments:

 While mode is the best candidate when the data is nominal, it is NOT limited to that type of data. It can
also be used even if the data is quantitative in nature.
 Example 12 illustrates that it is possible that the mode of a distribution does not exist.
 Republic of the Philippines
SOUTHERN LUZON STATE UNIVERSITY
LABORATORY SCHOOL
Lucban, Quezon

Name: _______________________________ Date: _______________________

Grade & Section: _______________________ Score: ______________________

“MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY OF UNGROUPED DATA”

Answer the following questions.
1. Is it possible for a set of data to have the same mean, median and mode? If yes, provide an example of
such set of data. If no, explain why not.
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2. Suppose that there is an election for the President of a student organization. To identify the winner,
what measure of central tendency should be used? Why?
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3. Your parents and the parents of your classmates meet in one room. All of a sudden, Bill Gates entered
the room. If we are going to determine the average monthly earnings of those who are in the room,
what do you think is the best measure of central tendency to be used? Why?
[Guide Question: Who is Bill Gates?]
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DO IT YOURSELF

Identify the mean, median and mode of the following set of data. Show your solution.
1. The following are the IQ scores of 20 selected college students.

115 110 119 98 112 91 94 111 111 110

115 107 96 107 105 108 116 109 103 100

2. Number of hours rendered by each worker per week.

25 31 26 19 20 30 25 31
21 33 25 21 24 33 36 26