RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MEAN, MEDIAN AND MODE

For unimodal frequency curves that are moderately skewed (asymmetrical), we

have the empirical relation

Mean – mode = 3(mean – median).

Mode = 3median – 2Mean

Example 1: It is given that in a moderately skewed distribution, median = 10 and mean

= 12. Using these values, find the approximate value of the mode.
Solution:

Let the mode be ‘x’. We are given that the median = 10 and mean
= 12. Using the relationship between mean, mode, and median we
get: 3median = mode + 2 mean.

3 × 10 = x + 2 × 12

30 = x + 24 ⇒x = 30-24⇒x = 6

Therefore, the value of mode is 6.

 MEASURES OF DISPERSION

Measures of dispersion, also known as measures

of variability or spread, are statistical measures
that describe the degree of spread or variability of
a dataset. Some common measures of dispersion
include range, interquartile range (IQR), variance,
standard deviation, mean absolute deviation
(MAD), coefficient of variation (CV), and quartile
deviation.
 Range

This is the difference between the highest and the

lowest value in the set.
Example 1
For the set S below, find the range
(i) S = {12, 17, 21, 14, 23, 19}
(ii) (ii) S = {43, 50, 64, 74, 85, 67, 79, 38}
 EXAMPLES

Solution:
(i)The range of S is 23 − 12 = 11
(ii)The range of S is 85 − 38 = 47
 THE MEAN ABSOLUTE DEVIATION
The mean absolute deviation or MAD, is based on
the absolute value of the difference between each
value in the data set and the mean of the group. It
is sometimes called the “average deviation”. The
mean average of these absolute values is then
determined.
 THE MEAN ABSOLUTE DEVIATION

The absolute values of the difference are used

because the sum of all the plus and minus
difference (rather than the absolute differences) is
always equal to zero. Thus the formula for MAD
is
i = 1, 2, …, n
 THE MEAN ABSOLUTE DEVIATION

Where is the mean of the set of numbers. and || is the

absolute value of the deviation of from . The
absolute value of a number is the number without the
associated sign and is indicated by two vertical lines
placed around the number; thus
| -4| = 4, | + 3| = 3, |6| = 6, and | - 0.84| = 0.84 .
If , , …, with frequencies f1, f2, …, fK, respectively,
the mean deviation can be written as
Mean deviation =
This form is useful for grouped data, where the ‘s
represent class marks and the fi ‘s are the
corresponding frequencies.
 EXAMPLES

1.Find the mean deviation of the sets (a) 12, 6, 7,

3, 15, 10, 18, 5 and (b) 9, 3, 8, 8, 9, 8, 9, 18.
Solution
(a) First find the mean,
= = = = 9.5
 = |x- 9.5|
12 2.5
6 3.5
7 2.5
3 6.5
15 5.5
10 0.5
18 8.5
5 4.5
  = 34
 EXAMPLES

From the table, = 34 and n = 8

M.D = = = 4.25
(b) =

= = =9
 X = |x- 9|
9 0
3 6
8 1
8 1
9 0
8 1
9 0
18 9
  = 18
M.D = = = 2.25.
Example 2
Using the frequency table displayed below, calculate the mean deviation
Solution:
 = = 22.29
M.D = = = 4.5
 Variance and Standard Deviation
Variance is the sum of the squares of the mean
deviation divided by the numbers of observations, and
standard deviation is the positive square root of the
variance.
If X1, …, XN is a set of data of n observations, then
the standard deviation of the data is denoted by s and
is defined by the equation
Variance and Standard Deviation

s = or s =
 Examples
Example 1. Find the mean and standard deviation of the set of numbers 2, 3, 5, 6,
8.

Solution

=
= = 4.8

Standard deviation:

Method 1- using s =
=
= 4.56
S=
= 2.14 (2 d.p.)
Method 2- using s =
= –
S= = 2.14 (2 d.p.)
Therefore the standard deviation of the set of
numbers is 2.14 (2 d.p.)
 ASSUMED MEAN METHOD

=
=
The table below shows the marks scored by 50 candidates
in an examination. Using an assumed mean of 44.5,
calculate the standard deviation to one place of decimal.
Solution
Assumed mean, A = 44.5
 CALCULATIONS INVOLVING THE
MEAN AND THE STANDARD DEVIATION
1. The table below gives the distribution of the number of letters per word
in the first fifty words of an essay.

(a) If the average number of letters per word is 5, find the

values of x and y.
(b) Calculate correct to two decimal places, the standard
deviation of the distribution.
Solution
(a) Given = 50, it follows that 37 + x + y = 50. This gives

x + y = 13…………………………….(1)

The mean, Thus,

.  190 + 3x + 6y = 250  3x + 6y = 60

 x + 2y = 20…………………………………(2)
Solving (1) and (2) simultaneously, we have x = 8 and y = 2.
(b)

Standard deviation = = = = 20.52

 Advantages of standard deviation
The standard deviation is a widely used measure of variability or dispersion in a
set of data. Despite its limitations, the standard deviation has several advantages
that make it a useful tool for analysing data. Some of these advantages include:
1.Provides a precise measure of variability: The standard deviation provides a
precise measure of the degree of variability or spread in a set of data. It gives a
single number that summarizes the amount of dispersion of the data points
around the mean.
2.Widely used: The standard deviation is a widely used and recognized measure
of variability in many fields, including statistics, finance, and science. This
makes it easy to compare results across different studies or datasets.
 Advantages of standard deviation
3. Easy to calculate: While the calculation of the standard deviation involves
multiple steps, the process is well-defined and can be easily calculated using
software or calculators. This makes it accessible to researchers and practitioners
without specialized training in statistics.
4. Useful for hypothesis testing: The standard deviation can be used to test
hypotheses about the population mean or to estimate confidence intervals for the
mean. This makes it a valuable tool for researchers and analysts in many fields.
5. Helps identify outliers: The standard deviation can be used to identify outliers
or extreme values in a dataset. This can be useful for detecting errors or
anomalies in the data that may need further investigation.
 Disadvantages of the standard deviation
1.Sensitive to Outliers: The standard deviation is sensitive to outliers or
extreme values in the data. This means that even one or a few extreme values
can significantly affect the value of the standard deviation.
2.Does not distinguish between direction: The standard deviation does not
distinguish between positive and negative deviations from the mean. It treats
all deviations from the mean as equal, regardless of whether they are above
or below the mean.
3.Not intuitive: The standard deviation is not always easy to interpret or
explain to others. Unlike other measures of variability, such as the range or
interquartile range, the standard deviation does not have a clear and intuitive
interpretation.
Disadvantages of the standard deviation
4. May not work well for skewed distributions: The standard deviation
assumes that the data is normally distributed. However, if the data is
skewed or has a non-normal distribution, the standard deviation may not
accurately represent the variability of the data.
5. Computationally intensive: The calculation of the standard deviation
involves multiple steps, including calculating the mean and then
calculating the deviations from the mean. This can be computationally
intensive, particularly for large datasets.
 Percentiles, Deciles and Quartiles
Percentiles are values which divide the data into 100 equal parts. A value has
one percent of the data falling below it, has 13% of the data falling below it
and has n% of the data falling below it.
Example 1
If the number of observations is 120, then
= × 120 = 30
So 30 observations are below the value of and
= × 120 = 18
So 18 observations fall below
So = = lower quartile.
- Deciles divide a set of values into ten equal parts. These are values , ,. . . , .
Example 2.
Let the observations be 200. Find and .
= × 200 = 60
= × 200 = 140
Note that = lower Quartile = = Median (middle quartile)
= = Upper quartile If the data is arranged on a number line, then
 The Interquartile Range
This is at times called quartile range. It is given by Upper quartile - Lower
quartile =
Upper quartile given by
Where = Lower class boundary of upper quartile class
N = Total frequency (no. of observation)
= Cumulative frequency before upper quartile class
= frequency of the upper quartile class
i = Class interval (width)
The lower quartile is given by
Where = Lower class boundary of lower quartile class
= Total frequency (no.of observation)
=Cumulative frequency before lower quartile class
= frequency of the lower quartile class i = class interval (width). The
semi-interquartile range = ( − ).
 QUESTIONS
1. The data below is weights of students in Lower Secondary school at school ABC.

Mass Frequency
40 ⎼ 44 8
45 ⎼ 49 24
50 ⎼ 54 37
55 ⎼ 59 30
60 ⎼ 64 26
65 ⎼ 69 18
70 ⎼ 74 10
75 ⎼ 79 7
Find the
(i) Median
(ii) Interquartile range
Solution
Mass Frequency Cf
40 ⎼ 44 8 8
45 ⎼ 49 24 32
50 ⎼ 54 37 69
55 ⎼ 59 30 99
60 ⎼ 64 26 125
65 ⎼ 69 18 143
70 ⎼ 74 10 153
75 ⎼ 79 7 160
(i) Median =

= 54.5 +

= 54.5 +

= 56.33333 ≃ 56.3

= 59.5 +
= 59.5 +
= 63.53846154 ≃ 63.54
 = 49.5 +
= 49.5 +
= 50.58108 ≃ 50.58.
Interquartile range = −
= 63.54 − 50.58
= 12.96