Calculating statistics from grouped continuous data

Since, we do not have the specific data values, we will estimate the values of median, mean and range. For the same
reason, instead of finding mode, we will find the modal class.

 To find the modal class, look for the class having the highest frequency. This is the class in which the largest number
of data values occur.
 To estimate the median
o In an odd number of data values
 Add 1 to the number of data values and divide the sum by 2. This result will give us the position of
the median.
 Keep adding the frequencies in the table until you reach the median’s position. The class in which
the median’s position lies will provide a reasonable estimate for the median
o In an even number of data values
 We will get two values in the middle and therefore, we have to find the positions of those values.
 To find the position of the first value, divide the number of data values by 2.
 To find the position of the second value, add 1 to the position of the first value.
 Now keep adding frequencies in the table until you reach these two positions. The class in which
these positions lie will provide a reasonable estimate for the median

 To find the mean, first, find the mid-point for each class interval using the formula:

𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕 + 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕

𝑴𝒊𝒅 − 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 =
𝟐

Define these mid-point values as ‘m’ and define the frequency values as ‘f’. For every class, calculate the product of
m and f,i.e. calculate 𝑚 × 𝑓. Find the sum of all 𝑚 × 𝑓 values, i.e., find ∑ 𝑚𝑓. Find the total frequency, i.e., find ∑ 𝑓.
The estimate of mean will then be given by:

∑ 𝒎𝒇
𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒏 =
∑𝒇

 To find the range, first, calculate the upper and lower bounds for the class having the largest data value (class B). Do
the same for the class having the smallest data value (class A). If the data values are given to the nearest whole
number, the upper and lower bounds can be found using the formulae below:

𝑼𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 = 𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕 + 𝟎. 𝟓 and 𝑳𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 = 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕 − 𝟎. 𝟓

Now we have to find the smallest and largest possible values of range. To find the smallest possible value of range,
subtract the upper bound of class A from the lower bound of class B. To find the largest possible value of range,
subtract the lower bound of class A from the upper bound of class B. The actual value of range lies between these
two values and we can now, provide a reasonable estimate for the range.
Example:

The table below shows the number of words in 50 sentences in a magazine. Find the modal class. Estimate the values
of the median and mean.

Number of words 1-5 6 - 10 11 - 15 16 - 20 21 - 25 26 - 30 31 - 35

Frequency 2 5 10 10 14 6 3

The class with the largest frequency is the 21 – 25 class. Therefore, the modal class is 21 – 25.

Since there are an even number of data values, the median can be found by taking the average at the:
50
= 25𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 26𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
2
To find the median, find the class in which the values at these two positions lie. Keep adding the frequencies in the table
until you reach the 25th and 26th position.

 The first 2 values will be from the 1 – 5 class

 The next 5 values will be from the 6 – 10 class. This means that between the 3 rd and 2 + 5 = 7th position (inclusive), all
data values will be from 6 – 10 class.
 The next 10 values will be from the 11 – 15 class. This means that between the 8 th and 7 + 10 = 17th position
(inclusive), all data values will be from the 11 – 15 class.
 The next 10 values will be from the 16 – 20 class. This means that between the 18 th and 17 + 10 = 27th position
(inclusive), all data values will be from the 16 – 20 class.

This means the values at the 25th and 26th positions lie in the 16 – 20 class. Therefore, an estimate of the median can be
19.

To find the mean, find the mid-point ‘m’ for each class and then find the product of the mid-point and frequency ‘f’ for
each class. Do this, by constructing the following table.

Number of
Mid – point, m Frequency, f 𝑛 ×𝑓
words
1+5
1–5 =3 2 6
2
6 + 10
6 – 10 =8 5 40
2
11 + 15
11 – 15 = 13 10 130
2
16 + 20
16 - 20 = 18 10 180
2
21 + 25
21 - 25 = 23 14 322
2
26 + 30
26 – 30 = 28 6 168
2
31 + 35
31 - 35 = 33 3 99
2
𝑓 = 50 𝑚𝑓 = 945

An estimate of the mean is = 18.9

Example:

The table below shows the heights of 60 young children. Estimate the range.

Heights (cm) 80 - 84 85 - 89 90 - 94 95 - 99 100 - 104 105 -109

Frequency 10 20 15 10 3 2

To find the range, first identify the class with the largest height (class B) and the class with the smallest height (class A).
Class A is 80 - 84 and class B is 105 - 109. Now find the upper and lower bounds for each class. Since the data is given to
the nearest whole number, we can find the upper and lower bounds by adding and subtracting = 0.5

Upper bound of class A = 84 + 0.5 = 84.5 Upper bound of class B = 109 + 0.5 = 109.5
Lower bound of class A = 80 – 0.5 = 79.5 Lower bound of class B = 105 – 0.5 = 104.5

Now find the largest possible and smallest possible values of range.

To find the largest possible value, subtract the lower bound of class A from the upper bound of class B.

109.5 − 79.5 = 30
To find the smallest possible value, subtract the upper bound of class A from the lower bound of class B.

104.5 − 84.5 = 20
Therefore, the range lies between 20 and 30.