Measure of Non-

Central
tendency

Dr. Hina Dutt

hina.dutt@seecs.edu.pk
SEECS-NUST
Quantiles

When the number of observations is sufficiently

large, the principle by which a distribution is
divided into two equal parts may be extended
to divide the distribution into four, five, eight,
ten or hundred equal parts. These are
collectively called Quantiles or Fractiles.
 Quantiles
Quartiles Deciles Percentiles
The three values The nine values The ninety nine
which divide the which divide the values which
distribution into distribution into divide the
four equal parts ten equal parts distribution into
hundred equal
parts
 • Lower Quartile 𝑄1 : A value that has one forth or 25%
Quartiles • Median 𝑄2 : A value that has two forth or 50%
• upper Quartile 𝑄3 : A value that has three forth or 75%

• First decile 𝐷1 : A value that has one tenth or 10%

Deciles • Second decile 𝐷2 : A value that has two tenth or 20%
and so on

• First percentile 𝑃1 : A value that has one hundredth or

Percentiles 1%
• 𝑆econd percentile 𝑃2 : A value that has two hundredth
or 2% and so on
How to Calculate Quantiles (For Individual
Observations)

Quartile Decile Percentile

𝑗 𝑗 𝑗
𝑄𝑗 = 𝑛 + 1 𝑡ℎ 𝐷𝑗 = 𝑛 + 1 𝑡ℎ 𝑃𝑗 = 𝑛 + 1 𝑡ℎ
4 10 100
value in the array; value in the array; value in the array;
j = 1,2,3 j = 1,2,3, … 9 j = 1,2,3, … 99
 Quantiles; Example 1 (Individual Observations)
The wheat production (in kgs) of 20 acres is given as: 1120 1240 1320 1040 1080 1200
1440 1360 1680 1730 1785 1342 1960 1880 1755 1720 1600 1470 1750 1885. Find the
lower quartile and the seventh decile.

The values are arranged in the ascending order of magnitude as:

1040 1080 1120 1200 1240 1320 1342 1360 1440 1470 1600 1680 1720 1730 1750 1755 1785
1880 1885 1960
1 1
𝑄1 = 𝑛 + 1 = 20 + 1 = 5.25𝑡ℎ value
4 4
𝑄1 = 5𝑡ℎ value+0.25(6𝑡ℎ value −5𝑡ℎ value) = 1240 + 0.25 1320 − 1240 = 1260 kg
7 7
𝐷7 = 𝑛+1 = 20 + 1 = 14.7𝑡ℎ value
10 10
𝐷7 = 14𝑡ℎ value+0.7(15𝑡ℎ value −14𝑡ℎ value) = 1730 + 0.7 1750 − 1730 = 1744 kg
Quantiles; Example 2 (Ungrouped frequency
Distribution)
The following distribution relates to the number of assistants in 50 retail
establishments.
No. of 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
assistants
f 3 4 6 7 10 6 5 5 3 1

Calculate first quartile and 7𝑡ℎ decile.

Quantiles; Example 2 (Ungrouped frequency
Distribution)
𝑄1 class 𝐷7 class
No. of
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
assistants
f 3 4 6 7 10 6 5 5 3 1
Cumulative
3 7 13 20 30 36 41 46 49 50
frequency

For 𝑄1 , we first locate the first quartile class.

𝑛+1 51
𝑄1 =No. of assistants in = = 12.75𝑡ℎ establishment= 2 assistants
4 4

For 𝐷7 , we first locate 7𝑡ℎ decile class.

7 7
𝐷7 =No. of assistants in 𝑛 + 1 = 51 = 35.7𝑡ℎ establishment= 5 assistants
10 10
How to Calculate Quantiles (Grouped Data)

Quartiles Deciles Percentiles

ℎ 𝑗 ℎ 𝑗 ℎ 𝑗
𝑄𝑗 = 𝑙 + ( 𝑛 − C) 𝐷𝑗 = 𝑙 + ( 𝑛 − C) 𝑃𝑗 = 𝑙 + ( 𝑛 − C)
𝑓 4 𝑓 10 𝑓 100
Quantiles; Example 3 (Grouped Data)

Calculate upper quartile and 63th percentile for the distribution of examination
marks given below:

Marks 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99

No. of 8 87 190 304 211 85 20
students
 Quantiles; Example 3 (Grouped Data)
Class Limits Class Boundaries Frequency 𝒇 Cumulative
frequency 𝑭
30-39 29.5-39.5 8 8
40-49 39.5-49.5 87 95
50-59 49.5-59.5 190 285
60-69 59.5-69.5 304 589 𝑃63 Class
70-79 69.5-79.5 211 800 𝑄3 Class
80-89 79.5-89.5 85 885
90-99 89.5-99.5 20 905

63 63
3 3 P63 = Marks obtained by 100 n = 100 905 = 570.15𝑡ℎ
Q3 = Marks obtained by n= 4 905 = 678.75𝑡ℎ student
4
ℎ 3 10 student
Q3 = 𝑙 + 𝑓 4 𝑛 − 𝐶 = 69.5 + 211 678.75 − 589
ℎ 63 10
= 73.7 marks 𝑃63 = 𝑙 + 𝑛 − 𝐶 = 59.5 + 570.15 − 285
𝑓 100 304
= 68.87 marks
Exercise 1

The following data relates to sizes of shoes sold at a store during a given week. Calculate
the quartiles, the 7𝑡ℎ decile and 64𝑡ℎ percentile.

Size of 5 𝟏 𝟔 𝟏 𝟕 𝟏 𝟖 𝟏 𝟗 𝟏
𝟓 𝟔 𝟕 𝟖 𝟗
shoes 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
No. of 2 5 15 30 60 40 23 11 4 1
Pairs
Exercise 2
Calculate the median, upper and lower quartiles from the following data.

Class Interval Frequency

Under 25 222
25 − 29 405
30 − 34 508
35 − 39 520
40 − 44 525
45 − 49 490
50 − 54 457
55 − 59 416
60 and over 166
Exercise 3
Calculate the upper and lower quartiles, third decile and 45𝑡ℎ percentile from the following
data.
Weight (mg) No. of Seeds
10 − 24.9 16
25 − 39.9 68
40 − 54.9 204
55 − 69.9 233
70 − 84.9 240
85 − 99.9 655
100 − 114.9 803
115 − 129.9 294
130 − 144.9 21
145 − 159.9 4
Reference Book: Probability and Statistics for
Engineers, 9th edition by Richard A. Johnson

Practice Questions:
Q # 2.41, 2.55