REVIEW ON DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

LESSON 2 – Measures of Central Tendency

A measure of central tendency is a single figure that is a representative of the general

level of magnitudes of values of the items in the data set. It is called measure of central tendency
because when the data points are arranged according to magnitude, it tends to lie centrally within
the set.
Any measure indicating the center of a set of data arranged in an increasing or decreasing
order of magnitude is called measure of central tendency.

A. MEAN
1) Arithmetic Mean (average)
This is the most widely used measure of location. It is calculated by adding the
values of the observations and dividing by the total number of observations.
Population mean (μ): If the set of data x1, x2, x3, … xN, represents a finite
population of size N, then the population mean is: μ=
∑x
N
Sample mean (x́): If the set of data x1, x2, x3, … xn, represents a finite population
of size N, then the population mean is: x́=
∑x
n

Example.
To find a mean for a set of numbers, all the numbers carry an equal weight. For
example, if you want to find the arithmetic mean of 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10:

1. Add up your data points: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 10 = 26.

2. Divide by the number of items in the set: 26 / 5 = 5.2.

Using the formula: x́=

∑ x = 1+3+5+7 +10 = 26 =5.2
n 5 5

2) Weighted Mean
A weighted mean is a kind of average. Instead of each data point contributing
equally to the final mean, some data points contribute more “weight” than others. If all
the weights are equal, then the weighted mean equals the arithmetic mean (the regular
“average” you’re used to). Weighted means are very common in statistics, especially
when studying populations.
x́ w =
∑ w i xi
∑ wi
 Example.
Renan has the following grades and its equivalent credit units for each grade. He wants
to determine his GPA (grade point average).
Subject Units (w) Grade (x) wx
Filipino 3 87 261
English 3 84 252
Math 3 85 255
PE 1 95 95
Chem. (lec) 3 82 246
Chem. (lab) 1 82 82
Philosophy 3 85 255
Total 17 1,446

Thus, x́ w =
∑ w i x i = 1446 =85.06.
∑ wi 17
B. MEDIAN
The median (~
x) is a set of observations arranged in an increasing or decreasing
order of magnitude is the middle value when the number of observations is odd or the
arithmetic mean of the two values when the number of observations is even. The
x n +1 if n is odd

Example.
~
{
formula is given by x= x n + x n +1
2
2
2

2
if n is even

a. If n is odd. Find the median of the scores 7, 2, 3, 7, 6, 9, 10, 8, 9, 9, and 10.

Solution: First, arrange the scores in increasing magnitude or ascending order
2, 3, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10
6th position

n+1
After arranging the 11 scores ascendingly, the middle score is at th position or
2
11+1 11+1 12 th
= = =6 position, that is, 8.
2 2 2

b. If n is even. Find the median of the scores 7, 2, 3, 7, 6, 9, 10, 8, 9, and 9.

Solution: First, arrange the scores in increasing magnitude or ascending order
2, 3, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10
5th and 6th position
 n n
After arranging the 10 scores ascendingly, the middle scores are at th and ( + 1)th
2 2
10 th 10 7+8
position or =5 position and +1=6th position, that is, ~
x= =7.5.
2 2 2

C. MODE
The mode of a set of observations is the value which occurs most often or with the
highest frequency. It is the least used method.

Example.
a) The scores 1, 2, 3, 2, 4, 7, 9, 2 have a mode of 2 since is the most frequent value
(unimodal).
b) The scores 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 have no mode since no score is repeated.
c) The scores 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2, 5, 6, 6, 7, 9, 6 have the modes of 2 and 6 since they both
occur with the same highest frequency (we refer to such data as bimodal).
d) The scores 3, 4, 1, 5, 3, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10 have the modes 3, 4, and 5 (trimodal).

In addition, the advantages of using the mode as a measure of central tendency

are: it requires no calculation; and it can be used for quantitative as well as qualitative
data. Though, mode does not always exist. For some sets of data, there may be several
values occurring with the greatest frequency, in which case, there are more than one
mode. If there are two modes in a distribution, then the distribution is said to be bimodal.
True Mode: The true mode can be calculated using the formula: 3 ~ x−2 x́

D. MIDRANGE
Midrange is defined as the mean of the largest and smallest values in a set of data.

Example: Consider the data set 110, 150, 180, 220, 270, 290, 310 and 390 as the prices of
speakers. The minimum number is 110, and the maximum is 390.

M = (max + min) / 2

 M = midrange
 Max = maximum value in data set
 Min = minimum value in data set

For the data set above: (390 + 110) / 2 = 500 / 2 = 250

Reference:

https://www.statisticshowto.datasciencecentral.com/weighted-mean/