Grade

10

MATHEMATICS
QUARTER 4 – MODULE 3
MELC 3

Interpreting
Measures of Position
PART I.
MELC 3: Interprets measures of position

A. Introduction and Discussion

Measures of position give us a way to see where a certain data point or value
falls in a sample distribution. In your previous module, you were able to calculate
specified measures of position (quartile, decile, percentile). However, it is equally
important for you to understand the meaning of calculated measure of position in
dealing with timely results for standardized tests, discovering the smallest as well as
the largest values in a given distribution and any other statistical studies.

In this module, you will learn to interpret measures of position.

Let us recall that,

 Quartiles divide the data set into 4 equal parts, so that each part represents ¼ of the
data set which means that,

Q1 Q2 Q3

 25% of the data has value ≤ Q1

 50% of all the data has a value ≤ Q2
 75% of all the data has a value ≤ Q3
 50% of all the data lies between Q1 and Q3

 Given the scores of 11 students in a Mathematics class.

3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9, 10, 11
There are 11 data items. Recalling our previous lesson, we can give the following
values.
The lower quartile is the 3rd data. So Q1 = 5 ; This means 25% of the students
got a score of 5.
The upper quartile is the 9th data. So Q3 = 9; This means 75% of the students
got a score of 9.
The median or second quartile is the 6th data. So Q2 = 7; This means 50% of
the students got a score of 7.

Generally,

• If a measurement falls to the right of the upper quartile of a set of data, then we know
that it is in the top 25% of the data. We also know that it is better than at least 75% of
the data.

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 • If a measurement falls to the left of the lower quartile of a set of data, then we know
that it is in the bottom 25% of the data. We also know that it is worse than at least
75% of the data.

Note: Not in all cases, the upper quartile shows better result than the lower quartile.
The location of the measurement on the left or right of the upper or lower quartile can
be better or worse depending on how the data is obtained, and the kind of data that we
have.

 Deciles are the nine score points which divide a distribution into ten equal parts. The
deciles are denoted as D1, D2, D3,... D9. They are computed and interpreted in the
same way with Quartiles.

D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9

 5th Decile is equivalent to 2nd Quartile

 The measurement of deciles can be interpreted as better or worse similar to quartile.

 In a Milk tea shop, the manager asked her crew to record the service time for 15
customers. The following are service time in minutes.
2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9,10, 11, 12

There are 15 items in the data set.

3rd decile is the 5th data = 5; This means that 30% or 5 out of 15 customers were
served in 5 minutes.

5th decile is the 8th data =7; This means 50% 0r 8 out of 15 customers were served
in 7 minutes.
8th decile is the 13th data = 10; This means 80% or 13 out of 15 customers were
served in 10 minutes.

 Percentiles are the ninety-nine score points which divide a distribution into one
hundred equal parts, so that each part represents the data set. It is used to
characterize values according to the percentage below them.

D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9
P10 P20 P30 P40 P50 P60 P70 P80 P90
The percentiles determine the value for 1%, 2%, 3%,… and 99% of the data. P40 or 40th
percentile of the data means 40% of the data have values less than or equal to P40.

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Note: 4th decile ( D4) is the 40th percentile ( P40). It means 40% of the data is less than or
equal to the value of P40 or D4.


The test scores of a random sample of ten students in a 50-item test in Algebra are as
follows : 15, 18, 20, 23, 28, 29, 33, 35, 40, 42

The 40th percentile is the 4th data = 23;This means 40% of the students got a score of
23.

The 50th percentile equivalent to 5th decile and 2nd quartile is the 5th data= 28; This means
50% of the students got a score of 28.

The 90th percentile is the 9th data = 40;This means 90% of the students got a score of
40.

B. Illustrative Examples
Example 1. Out of 50 examinees in Statistics class, Pammy’s score is 39 which is in the
8th decile. Did Pammy perform better or worse in the exam?

Interpretation:
This means that Pammy surpassed 80% or 40 examinees who got a score of ≤ 39 and
only 9 examinees scored above her who got 39. Therefore, Pammy performed
better in the test.

Example 2. In a certain hospital, ten patients were advised to have a diet program over
a given period of time in order to reduce their blood sugar. Mr. Reyes reduced 4.4 lbs.
which is the 1st quartile. Did Mr. Reyes perform better among the patients?
Interpretation:
Since Mr. Reyes belongs to the 1st quartile, this means that he belongs to 25% of the
patients who reduced 4.4 lbs and there were 75% of the patients who were able to
reduce 4.4 lbs. Therefore, among the patients, Mr. Reyes did not perform well in the
diet program.

Example 3. Mrs. Casingal gave an oral reading test to her students. Mary finished the
test in 5 minutes. This time is the 1st quartile of the allotted time. What does this mean?
Interpretation:
This means that Mary finished the test in 5 minutes which is lower quartile. This is
considered to be good since Mary finished the test and she belongs to 25% of the
students who finished the test in 5 minutes and she surpassed 75% of her
classmates who finished the test in ≥ 5 minutes.
Example 4. Mother gave a challenge to her son Peter. If Peter will exceed at least 80%
of his classmates in the test, his mother will give him an additional allowance. In the test
results, Peter ranked 6th among the 25 students who took the test. Did her mother give
him additional allowance? Why?

Interpretation:
Since 80% of 25 students is 20, Peter should exceed at least 20 of his classmates,
so he should rank at least 5th among the students. Since he rank 6th,this means he

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 only exceeded 19 of his classmates. Therefore, his mother will not give Peter an
additional allowance.

Note :
Measures of position give a range where a certain percentage of the
data fall. The most common measures of position are quartiles, deciles and
percentiles. These measures of position will help us assess one’s
achievement. Knowing one’s score and position in relation to the scores and
position of the others will tell you if you need to strive harder.

PART II. ACTIVITIES

A. Directions: Read and interpret the situations below.
1. Among the officers in 10- Hernandez class, Pia’s height is in the 7th Decile. If there
are 10 officers, how many students are taller than Pia?

2. The Provincial government of Pangasinan identified municipalities under PHO

watchlist. Listed below are the identified municipalities.
City/ Municipality under PHO Watchlist ( as of January 27, 2021)
Source: Pangasinan COVID-19 Monitoring Report
RANK MUNICIPALITIES/CITIES NUMBER OF CASES
1 DAGUPAN CITY 135
2 MALASIQUI 59
3 CALASIAO 49
4 SAN CARLOS CITY 47
5 STA. BARBARA 38
6 BUGALLON 26
7 LINGAYEN 18
8 BAYAMBANG 17
9 SAN FABIAN 17
10 MANAOAG 14
11 URDANETA CITY 13
12 ALAMINOS CITY 12
13 SUAL 12
14 URBIZTONDO 12

Based on the table,

a. Among the 14 municipalities, what are the Municipalities not included in the
75th percentile of higher COVID-19 cases in the watchlist?

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 b. Will the Municipal Mayor be glad if his municipality belongs to the P 25 in the
watchlist?

3. The table below shows the scores of Eduardo in a College Scholastic Aptitude
Test.
COLLEGE SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST EXAMINEE’S REPORT
E M S IR GSA
( English ) (Mathematics) ( Science ) ( Inductive (General Scholastic
Reasoning ) Aptitude)
Standard
Score 619 741 670 669 717
Percentile
Rank 88 98 96 95 97

a. From the figure above, Eduardo got a percentile rank of 88 in English. What does
this mean?
b. His percentile rank in Mathematics is 98, interpret the result.
c. In Science, he belongs to the 96th percentile, what does it mean?

B. Directions:: Below are the weights in kilograms of 115 Grade 10 students. Answer the
questions that follow.

Weights ( in kg ) f L.B. < CF

71 – 75 2
66 – 70 2
61 – 65 4
56 – 60 10
51 – 55 15
46 – 50 23
41 – 45 35
36 – 40 21
31 – 35 3

a. Complete the table.

b. Show your solution to fInd D6.
c. Interpret the result.

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 6
) = 45.5 + (
) (
= 69 is the D6 class = D6 class =
) (
Solution :
N = 115
3 30.5 3 31 – 35
24 35.5 21 36 – 40
59 40.5 35 41 – 45
82 45.5 23 46 – 50
97 50.5 15 51 – 55
107 55.5 10 56 – 60
111 60.5 4 61 – 65
113 65.5 2 66 – 70
115 70.5 2 71 – 75
< CF L.B. f Weights ( in kg )
B.
A. 1. It means that Pia is taller than 70% of the officers. This also means that 30 % of
the officers are taller than Pia. Since 30% of ten is 3, then there are 3 officers who
are taller than Pia.
2. a. The 75th percentile is the 11th data = 13 Urdaneta City
Therefore, Alaminos City, Sual, and Urbiztondo not included in the 75th percentile
in the watchlist.
b. Yes, if the municipality included in the 25th percentile in the watchlist, it is a
good indication that it belongs to 25% of the municipalities which have
3 COVID – 19 cases. It also means that there are 75% of the municipalities
which have ≥ 13 COVID-19 cases.
3. a. It means that Eduardo is in the upper 12% of those who took the
examination.
Eduardo surpassed 88% of the examinees in English
b. He belongs to the upper 2% of those who took the examination in
Mathematics.
He scored higher than 98% of the examinees in Mathematics
c. He is in the upper 4% of the total examinees.
He surpassed 96% of the total examinees.
Answer Key for Activities
 = 45.5 + ( )
= 45.5 + 2.17
D6 = 47.67 The 6th decile is equivalent to the 60th
percentile. Therefore, 60% of the 115
Grade 10 students have weights less
than or equal to 47.67 kgs.
 The table cannot be rotated/inverted.

PART III. ASSESSMENT

A. Directions. Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write your answer on your
answer sheet,
For numbers 1 and 2.
Heizelle’s salary as a teacher is in the 80th percentile.
1. Which of the following is true?
a. 80% of the teachers has a salary that is less than or equal to hers.
b. 80% of the teachers has a salary that is greater than or equal to hers.
c. 20% of the teachers has a salary that is less than hers.
d. 20% of the teachers has a salary that is equal to hers.
2. Should Heizelle be glad about her salary or not?
a. She should be pleased with her salary.
b. She should not be glad with her salary.
c. She should demand for a higher salary.
d. She should complain, because of low salary.
3. In a group of 35 students taking a 60-item test, Jana obtained a score of 55, and 26
students scored below her. What does her score imply?
a. At the lower quartile c. At the upper quartile
b. At the middle quartile d. Below the middle quartile
4. In an exam, which is better a high or low percentile? Why?
a. Low percentile, because you want a mark that is better than the others.
b. High percentile, because you want a mark that is better than the others.
c. Cannot be determined.
d. The data is insufficient.
5. In a race, a runner runs 15km/h which is in the 30th percentile. This means that
a. 70% of the runners ran at less than or equal to 15km/h and 30% ran at more than
15km/h.
b. 70% of the runners ran equal to 15km/h and 30% ran more than 15km/h.
c. 30% of the runners ran at less than or equal to 15km/h and 70% ran at more than
15km/h.
d. 30% of the runners ran equal to 15km/h and 70% ran at more than 15km/h.
6. Supposed that the 3rd quartile of the ages of 300 Pangasinenses who recovered with
Covid–19 is 30 years old. Which of the following statements is true?
a. 50% of Pangasinenses are 30 years old and below.
b. 75% of Pangasinenses are 30 years old and below.
c. 25% of Pangasinenses are 30 years old and below.
d. 25% of Pangasinenses are exactly 30 years old.
7. Out of 50 examinees in Mathematics, Mr. Manuel said that he will give rewards to
those who belong to the upper quartile. If Justine aims for the reward, which of the
following should he do ?
a. Justine should answer at most 38 items correctly.
b. Justine should answer at least 38 items correctly.
c. Justine should rank 38th above his classmates.
d. Justine should rank 38th below his classmates.

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 8. If Justine got a score of 45, and 10 students scored above him, what does this
mean?
a. His score is in the lower quartile.
b. His score is in the upper quartile.
c. His score is in the 20th percentile.
d. His score is in the 80th percentile.
e.
For numbers 9 – 10, consider the following First Quarter Grades of 10 students in
Mathematics 10 below.
95 75 80 88 92 91 90 89 85 84
9. The median in the score distribution can also be interpreted as
a. Six students scored below 89.
b. Six students scored above 89.
c. Four students scored above and five students scored below 89.
d. Four students scored below and five students scored above 89.
10. If Aaron’s grade is equal to D4, it means that
a. He surpassed 4 students. c. He surpassed 2 students.
b. He surpassed 3 students. d. He surpassed 1 student.

B. Directions: Below are the MTAP Scores of Grade 10 contestants. Eric and Jess
scored 40 and 38 respectively. Complete the table and answer the questions that
follow.

Scores Frequency Lower Boundary < Cumulative

Frequency
46 – 50 3
41 – 45 5
36 – 40 4
31 – 35 12
26 – 30 13
21 – 25 9
16 – 20 11
11 – 15 14
6 – 10 12
1–5 17

1. What is the percentile rank of Eric ? Jess ?

2. Based on their percentile ranks, do they belong to the top 10% scorers ?

References:
Callanta, Melvin, et. al. Mathematics Grade 10 Learners Module

Tayao, Antonio G., et. al. Secondary Mathematics Book III, Rex Book Store, Copyright
1991

Orines, Fernando B., et. al Next Century Mathematics 10, Phoenix Publishing House,
Copyright 2015
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