MODULE 3: Measures of Central

Tendency

Lesson Mean, Median &

Mode of
Ungrouped Data
3.1LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

1. Calculate the mean, median and mode of ungrouped and grouped data. 2.
Discuss the uses and limitations of mean, median and mode as measures of
central tendency.
3. Identify the uses and limitations of mean, median and mode.

LET’S EXAMINE
A measure of central tendency or a measure of central location is a typical
value or a representative value in a set of observation. It attempts to describe a set of
data by identifying the central position within that set of data. The mean, median and
mode are valid measures of central tendency. They are also known as summary
statistics because they represent the center points of a data set under different
conditions.

LET’S EXPLORE
Mean, Median and Mode of Ungrouped Data

1. Mean or Average

The mean is the sum of the value of each observation in a dataset divided by
the number of observations. This is also known as the arithmetic average.

Below is the formula for solving mean of ungrouped data:

 ��̅= ∑��
�� where
∑ is a sigma notation which means to find the sum
x values/observations in the data set n total number of values/observations in the
data set
��̅ mean
Example1.
The following are the ages of employees in a certain company. Find their
mean age
25, 23, 31, 34, 40, 37, 42, 33, 28, 45, 48, 50 52, 40, 42
Solution:
��̅= ∑ ��
��
��̅= 25+23+31+34+40+37+42+33+28+45+48+50+52+40+42
15
��̅ = 38 employees’ ages
cluster about 38 years
��̅= 38 means that old.
38 8
majority of

The Weighted Mean or Weighted Average

A weighted mean is a type of average wherein some data points contribute

more weight than others. If all the weights are equal, then the weighted mean equals
the arithmetic mean or the regular average you used to solve.
To find the weighted average, multiply each term by its weighting factor, which
is the number of times each term occurs and add all of them then divide the sum by
the total weighting factors.

In formula:

��̅�� = ��1��1+��2��2+ ....+ ��������

��1+��2+ ....+����,
where ��̅�� is the weighted mean
����, ����, …, ���� values/observations in a set of data
����, ����,… ,���� weighting factors ���� ����, a particular value/observation
multiplied to the number of times that value occurs

Example 2.
Anna, a BS Biology student is a consistent Dean’s lister for an exemplary
performance in her academic subjects. Last semester, she obtained the
following as her final grades in the courses she enrolled and their
corresponding credit units respectively.

Credit Units Final Grade

English 3 1.75
Biology 2 5 2.0
Bio Statistics 3 2.25
Psychology 3 1.5
Chemistry 5 1.75
Elective 3 1.5

a. What is Ana’s general weighted average (GWA)?

b. Based on school policy, an academic distinction is given to a student whose GWA
is 1.75 or better, does Ana’s GWA qualify for an academic award?
Solution:
��1 = 1.75, ��2= 2.0, ��3 = 2.25, ��4 = 1.5, ��5 = 1.75, ��6 = 1.5 ��1 = 3,
��2= 5, ��3 = 3, ��4 = 3, ��5 = 5, ��6 = 3
You have noticed that subjects/courses do not have equal credit units, thus the
formula for the weighted mean is the appropriate formula to be used to answer
question “a”.

a. ��̅�� = ��1��1 +��2��2+��3��3 +��4��4+��5��5 ��6��6

��1+��2 +��3+��4 +��5+��6
��̅�� = (1.75) (3)+(2.0) (5)+(2.25)(3)+(1.5)(3)+(1.75) (5)+(1.5)(3)

3+5+3+3+5+3
��̅�� = 39.75

22
��̅�� = 1.81

b. No, Ana’s GWA of 1.81 for the last semester does not qualify for an
academic distinction.

Example 3.
A class of 32 students in Statistics received grades averaging 78 points on a
standardized test and another section of 48 students received grades
averaging 84 points on the same test. What is the overall average grade of
these students?

Solution:
��1 = 78, ��2= 84
��1 = 32, ��2= 48

��̅�� = ��1��1 +��2��2

��1 +��2
��̅�� = (78) (32)+(84) (48)

32+48
��̅�� = 81.6

2. Median

The median is the middle value in distribution when the values are arranged in
ascending or descending order. The median divides the distribution in half (there are
50% of observations on either side of the median value.

Example 4.
Referring to Example 1on the ages of 15 employees in a certain company.
Find their median age.

25, 23, 31, 34, 40, 37, 42, 33, 28, 45, 48, 50 52, 40, 42

Solution:
Step1. Arrange the data in ascending or descending order.

23, 25, 28, 31, 33, 34, 37, 40, 40, 42, 42, 45, 48, 50, 52

Step 2. Determine the middle value of the distribution which is considered the
median of the given data set
23, 25, 28, 31, 33, 34, 37, 40, 40, 42, 42, 45, 48, 50, 52
50% of the ages are 50% of the ages are equal or
equal or less than more than the median 40
the median 40

median

Example 5.
The following are the weights of new born babies in pounds (lbs):
6.0, 6.25, 5.75, 6.15, 6.75, 6.80, 5.50, 6.20, 6.0, 7.0. Find the median weight.

Solution:
Arranging the data in ascending order, we have

5.50, 5.75, 6.0, 6.0, 6.15, 6.20, 6.25, 6.75, 6.80, 7.0

Since the total number of

observations is 10 (an even number)
there is no particular middle value in
the given set, therefore the median
= 6.15+6.20
2= 6.175

3. Mode

The mode is defined as the most frequently occurring value in the set of
data/observation. For a small data set in which no measured values are repeated,
there is no mode. When two adjoining values are about equal in having maximum
frequencies associated with them, the distribution is described as being unimodal.
Distributions of measurements with several modes are referred to as being
multimodal.

Example 6.
Again, referring to example 1 on the ages of 15 employees in a
certain company. Find their modal age.

25, 23, 31, 34, 40, 37, 42, 33, 28, 45, 48, 50 52, 40, 42

Solution:
40 and 42 are two values having equal frequency associated with them.
They both exist twice in the data set, therefore the modal ages also called
bimodal are 40 and 42.

Example 7.
Referring to Example 5 on the weights of new born babies in pounds (lbs): 6.0,
6.25, 5.75, 6.15, 6.75, 6.80, 5.50, 6.20, 6.0, 7.0. What is the modal weight?
Solution:
6.0 lbs appears twice in the given set of data, therefore it is the modal
weight (unimodal) of the distribution.

Mode of
Lesson Grouped Data

3.21. Mean

Mean, Median &

When computing for the mean of ungrouped data, we have noticed that we
usually include every value in the data set as part of the calculation because the
mean is defined as the sum of the values in the data set divided by the number of
values. The mean of a grouped frequency distribution maybe obtained in almost the
same way as the mean of ungrouped frequency distribution.

We will use the formula

��̅= ∑ ������
�� where ∑ is a sigma notation which means to find the sum
f frequency
n total number of values/observations in the data set ��̅ mean

Example 8.
Consider the frequency distribution of the test scores in Statistics of fifty
students below. Determine the Mean score
i=5 n=50 ∑������=
Class Class Midpoin (f)(�� 1760
Interval Frequency t/ Class
X f Mark
����

21-25 5 23 115

26-30 8 28 22
2. Median
31-35 14 33 46Solution:
1. In solving for the mean of grouped frequency
36-40 12 38 45
distribution, what you need are the class
41-45 6 43 25frequency (f) and the Midpoint/Class mark (���� )
columns to get the product of f and ���� .
46-50 4 48 192
2. Take the sum of all the entries in (f)(���� )
51-55 1 53 53
columns which is equivalent to ∑������ .
 50= 35.2, implies that majority of
3. Substitute it to the formula of calculating mean
of grouped data ��̅= ∑ ������ the scores cluster about 35.2
��
��̅= 1760

In computing the median of grouped data, the essential columns aside from
the class intervals and class frequencies are the class boundaries and the cumulative
frequency less than (cf<) if the distribution is arranged in ascending

We can solve the median of grouped data using the formula

̃ ��
�� = ������ + ( 2−������
����)�� where ������ lower boundary of the median class
n total number of observations ������ cumulative frequency of the class
interval
before the median class ���� frequency in the median class
i interval size/class size
Note: The notation ��2 implies that the median value divides the distribution into two
equal parts, that is, 50% of the data in the distribution is below or equal to the
median value and 50% is above or equal to the median value.

Example 9.
Below is the frequency distribution of the test ������
scores in Statistics of fifty students. Determine
the Median score.
Class Class Class cf<
Interval Frequen Boundaries
X cy f
Lowe Uppe
r r
����
21-25 5 20.5 25.5 5 Steps in solving the Median:
1. Determine the value of ��2 to be able to identify
26-30 8 25.5 30.5 13 the ������
��
31-35 14 30.5 35.5 27 2= 502= 25, look for the ������ in the cf< column
which is lower but closer to 25 and it should
36-40 12 35.5 40.5 39 therefore be 13.

41-45 6 40.5 45.5 45 2. Immediately below the ������is the median

class (the highlighted line) where values for ����
46-50 4 45.5 50.5 49
=14 and ������ = 30.5 can be obtained.
51-55 1 50.5 55.5 50
3. Determine the median by substituting those
i=5 n=50 values to the formula.
��

2−������

������
Median Mdn = 30.5 + ( 34.79
class ����)i 14)5 = 30.5 +(25−13)5
Mdn = ������ + (
50 14=
2−13

This implies that 50% of the scores are

below or equal to 31.36 and 50% are
above or equal to 34.79
3. Mode
There are two formulas in computing the mode of grouped data
but unfortunately, they have distinct results.

Formula 1.
̂
�� = 3��̃ − 2̅��

This formula clearly illustrates how the mode is positioned relative to the two other
measures of central tendency, the mean and the median.

Formula 2.
̂ ��
�� = ������ + ( 1
��1+��2) �� where ������ lower boundary of the modal class
���� difference between the frequency in the modal class and the frequency in the
preceding class interval
���� difference between the frequency in the modal class and the frequency in the
succeeding class interval
i interval size/class size
Example 10.
Referring to Example 9, determine the mode using the two formulas above.
i=5 n=50
Class Class Class cf
Interval Frequen Boundaries
X cy f
Lowe Upper Formula 1.
r ̂
�� = 3��̃ − 2̅��
21-25 5 20.5 25.5 5��̂ = 3(31.36) – 2(35.2); (refer to

26-30 8 25.5 30.5 1 ��̂= 23.68 the computed

values of your mean and
31-35 14 30.5 35.5 2median)

36-40 12 35.5 40.5 3 ̂ ��

Formula 2. �� = ������ + ( 1

41-45 6 40.5 45.5 4��1+��2) ��

46-50 4 45.5 50.5 4

��̂ = 30.5 + (6
51-55 1 50.5 55.5 5
6+2) 5
��1 = 14-8��2=14-12
��̂= 34.25
The highlighted line is the modal class because it
has the largest class frequency (f) of 14.

Mean, Median and Skewness

 In a quantitative research investigation, assumption testing of the chosen
analysis allows you to determine if you can correctly draw conclusions from the results
of your analysis. Researchers can therefore think of assumptions as the requirements
that must be fulfilled before the conduct of the data analysis.

One common assumption underlying many statistical tests is that data should
be normally distributed or at least symmetric. A normal distribution takes the form of a
normal curve or bell-shaped curve (see Figure 1 below) if the values of the mean,
median and mode are equal. On the other hand, data can be skewed if the mean is
greater than the median (positively skewed) and if the mean is less than the median
(negatively skewed) as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 respectively. This is true
because while the median is not affected by extreme scores, the mean is pulled
either to the right or to the left by scores at one end of the distribution.

Fig. 1 Normal Fig. 2 Positively Fig. 3 Negatively

Curve/Bell-shape Skewed Skewed
d

Source: http://analystnotes.com/cfa-study-notes-symmetry-and-skewness-in-return-distributions.htm
Uses and Limitations of Mean Median and Mode
Measur Advantages Disadvantages Best
e of Measure
Central with
Tenden respect to
cy the type
of variable
Mean ✔ It takes all values into ✔ It is easily Interval
account which affected by any and Ratio
means extreme level (not
that its calculation is value/outlier (very
sensitive to extreme skewed)
based on all the
observations. values).
✔ It cannot be
✔ It is rigidly defined
calculated if all the
by the mathematical
observations are not
formula. known.
✔ It tells the point ✔ Its value many
about which items not correspond
have a to an
tendency to cluster actual value.
about. ✔ Mean is reactive
✔ The positive to exact position of
deviations must each score in the
balance the distribution, hence
negative deviations, increasing or
decreasing the
that is, the sum of the
value of any score
deviations of individual
will also change the
values of observation
mean.
from the mean will
always add up to zero.
✔ It is a calculated
average.
✔ It is least affected
by sampling
fluctuations.
✔ It is the best
measure to compare
two or
more sets of data.
✔ It does not depend
upon any position.
✔ For discrete data,
mean does not
change if all
measurements are
multiplied or divided
by the same positive
number.
✔ It is suited to further
statistical analysis

Median ✔ It is a positional ✔ It does not work Ordinal

average well with small sets level
✔ It is typically used of data.
when the data set has Interval
✔ In calculating
extreme values or is median, all the and Ratio
skewed in some level
data should be
direction hence, (skewed)
arranged in
extreme items do not
ascending or in
affect median.
✔ It is useful in open descending order.
ended frequencies In case of large
 ✔ It is a special number of items, it
average used in becomes tedious
qualitative and time
phenomena like consuming.
intelligence or beauty ✔ Median provides
which are not correct result in
quantified but ranks
case of odd
are given. Thus, we
observations. When
can locate the person
the number of
whose intelligence or
beauty is the observations is
average. even it fails to
obtain accurate
result.
✔ It is a less
representative
average because it
does not depend
on all the items in
the series.

Mode ✔ It is a measurement ✔ It is ill-defined (not Nominal

of relatively great always possible to level
concentration. find a clearly
✔ It is a good indicator defined mode)
of the center of data ✔ It is not based
for upon all the
observations with observations.
dominating frequency. ✔ It is not amenable
✔ It is readily to further
comprehensible and mathematical
easy to calculate. treatment.
✔ It can be used for ✔ As compared to
non numerical data mean and median,
(e.g. it is affected to a
sizes of T-shirt (small, great extent by
medium, large extra fluctuations of
large) sampling.
✔ When data sets
contain two, three
or many modes,
they are difficult to
compare and
interpret. This implies
that mode is not
stable from sample
to sample

Readings:

1. Mean Median and Mode:

https://statistics.laerd.com/statistical-guides/measures
central-tendency-mean-mode-median.php
2. Statistical Language - Measures of Central Tendency:
https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/a3121120.nsf/home/statistical+language
+- +measures+of+central+tendency
Lectures:

Lecture Video. Mean, Median and Mode (Khan Academy):

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-dat
a
statistics/mean-and-median/v/statistics-intro-mean-median-and-mode