LESSON 4.

MEASURES OF POSITION OR FRACTILES

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
● identify the three most common and widely used measures of position or fractiles;
● calculate the percentile, decile, and quartile of a given set of data;
● find the five-number summary of a given data set and draw a box-and-whisker plot; and
● use Microsoft Excel functions and Google sheets functions in computing the percentile,
decile, and quartile of a given set of data.

This lesson deals with the different point measures or measures of position or fractiles. These
measures are percentile, decile, and quartile. The most common and most widely used point of
measure is the percentile.
Fractile is the division of an array into equivalent subgroups. It identifies the position of a value
in an array. An array divided into a hundred equal parts is called percentile, whereas an array
divided into ten equal parts is decile, and an array divided into four equal parts is known as quartile.

Lesson 4.1 PERCENTILE, DECILE, AND QUARTILE

Computation of the Percentiles, Deciles, and Quartiles of Ungrouped Data

𝑘(𝑛) 𝑡ℎ
The general formula for the measures of position or fractiles is [ 𝐹
]
where:
𝑘 = term of interest; 𝑛 = number of observed values; and
𝐹 = Fractile (percentile = 100; decile = 10; quartile = 4)
Percentiles (𝑃𝑘 ) are values in an array which is subdivided into 100 equal parts. For instance,
𝑃1 is read as first percentile which means that the value is greater than 1% of the observed values
in the array. 𝑃2 , read as second percentile, signifies a value greater than 2% of the observed values
in the array, and so on.

Example 4.1.1:
Education: Below are the scores of 12 students in a 20-item quiz. Find the 80th percentile.
4 3 6 12 11 6 18 5 6 6 17 13
Solution:
Step 1: Arrange the data from the lowest to highest.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th
3 4 5 6 6 6 6 11 12 13 17 18

Step 2: Identify the values in the formula: 𝑘 = 80; 𝑛 = 12; and 𝐹 = 100 (percentile)
𝑘(𝑛) 𝑡ℎ 80(12) 𝑡ℎ 960 𝑡ℎ
𝑃80 = [ 𝐹
] =[ 100
] = [100] = 9.6𝑡ℎ or the 10𝑡ℎ position

Step 3: Locate what value is in the 10th position in Step 1.

10th position = 13

∴ The 80th percentile is 13, which means that 80% of the scores are below 13.

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 Decile (𝐷𝑘 ) is an array subdivided into 10 equal parts. For instance, 𝐷1 is read as first decile
which means that the value is greater than 10% of the observed values in the array. 𝐷2, read as the
second decile, signifies a value greater than 20% of the observed values in the array, and so on.

Example 4.1.2:
Automotive: The fuel efficiency of 10 small utility trucks was measured in miles per gallon. The
results are recorded as follows: 22, 25, 23, 27, 15, 24, 24, 32, 23, and 22. Find the 6th decile.
Solution:
Step 1: Arrange the data from the lowest to highest.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
15 22 22 23 23 24 24 25 27 32

Step 2: Identify the values in the formula: 𝑘 = 6; 𝑛 = 10; and 𝐹 = 10 (decile)

𝑘(𝑛) 𝑡ℎ 6(10) 𝑡ℎ
𝐷6 = [ 𝐹
] =[ 10
] = 6𝑡ℎ position

Step 3: Locate what value is in the 6th position in Step 1.

6th position = 24

∴ The 6th decile is 24, which means that 60% of the results are below 24.

Quartiles (𝑄𝑘 ) are values in an array which is subdivided into four equal parts. For instance,
𝑄1 is read as first quartile which means that the value is greater than 25% of the observed values in
the array. 𝑄2 , read as second quartile, signifies a value greater than 50% of the observed values in
the array, and so on.

Example 4.1.3:
Health: A survey of eight fast-food restaurants noted the number of calories in a mid-sized
hamburger. The results are: 514, 507, 502, 498, 496, 506, 458, and 478. Find the 1st quartile.
Solution:
Step 1: Arrange the data from the lowest to highest.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
458 478 496 498 502 506 507 514

Step 2: Identify the values in the formula: 𝑘 = 1; 𝑛 = 8; and 𝐹 = 4 (quartile)

𝑘(𝑛) 𝑡ℎ 1(8) 𝑡ℎ
𝑄1 = [ 𝐹
] =[ 4
] = 2nd position

Step 3: Locate what value is in the 2nd position in Step 1.

2nd position = 478

∴ The 1st quartile is 478, which means that 25% of the scores are below 478.

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 The following figure shows the relationships among percentiles, quartiles, and deciles.

As shown, Q1 = P25, Q2 = P50, Q3 = P75, and D1 = P10, D2 = P20, …, D9 = P90. Also, Q2 = D5 =

P50 = Median.

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 -=TARGET PRACTICE 4.1=-
Solve the following problems obtained from different disciplines:
1. Sports: The scores of the 10 players in a dart game were as follows: 56, 62, 61, 57, 55, 47,
60, 58, 53, and 64. Find the 45th percentile, 5th decile, and 3rd quartile.

2. Population: Fifteen households showed the following number of household members: 3,

8, 5, 4, 4, 6, 7, 7, 5, 4, 6, 4, 5, 8, and 7. Find the 35th percentile, 4th decile, and first quartile.

3. Education: The following scores were obtained by 18 students in a mathematics quiz: 87,
98, 88, 58, 76, 89, 62, 81, 57, 75, 71, 84, 90, 87, 84, 65, 75, and 96. Find P90, D7, and Q3.

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 Lesson 4.2 BOX-AND-WHISKER PLOT

A box-and-whisker plot, sometimes called a boxplot, is a graph that represents information

from a five-number summary. It is a way of summarizing a set of data measured at least on an
interval scale. Box-and-whisker plots are ideal for comparing distributions because the center,
spread and overall range are immediately apparent.
The five-number summary are generally included in the chart:

1. The lowest observation is the smallest or minimum number in the data set. It is shown at
the far left of the chart, at the end of the left whisker.
2. The lower quartile, Q1 is shown at the far left of the box or at the far right of the left
whisker.
3. The median, Q2 is shown as a line in the center of the box.
4. The upper quartile, Q3 is shown at the far right of the box or at the far left of the right
whisker.
5. The highest observation is the largest or maximum number in the data set. It is shown at
the far right of the box.

The box plot shape will show if a statistical data set is normally distributed or skewed as shown
in the figure below.

Source: https://www.simplypsychology.org/boxplots.html

When the median is in the middle of the box, and the whiskers are about the same on both sides
of the box, then the distribution is symmetric. When the median is closer to the top of the box, and
if the whisker is shorter on the upper end of the box, then the distribution is negatively skewed
(skewed to the left). Further, when the median is closer to the bottom of the box, and if the whisker
is shorter on the lower end of the box, then the distribution is positively skewed (skewed to the
right).
Moreover, interquartile range (IQR) is the length of the box in the box-and-whisker plot, that
is IQR = Q3 – Q1. The IQR can be used as a measure of how the data are spread out.
Steps:
1. Arrange the data from the lowest to highest.
2. Find the lowest and highest observations of the data set.

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 3. Solve for the median/Q2 of the observations.
4. Solve for Q1 and Q3.

Example 4.2.1:
Food: A sample of 10 boxes of raisins has these weights (in grams): 35, 35, 38, 37, 30, 34, 29,
25, 28, and 29. Find the five-number summary and draw the box-and-whisker plot.
Solution:
Step 1: Arrange the data from the lowest to highest.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
25 28 29 29 30 34 35 35 37 38
Step 2: Find the lowest and highest observations of the data set.
lowest: 25
highest: 38
Step 3: Solve for the median/Q2 of the values.
Since the number of observations is 10. The positions of the median are in 5th and 6th.
30+34
Median/Q2 = 2 = 32

Step 4: Solve for Q1 and Q3.

Subset 1: 25, 28, 29, 29, 30 median = Q1 = 29
Subset 2: 34, 35, 35, 37, 38 median = Q3 = 35

∴ lowest observation = 25, Q1 = 29, Q2 = 32, Q3 = 35, highest observation = 38

As shown, the left whisker is longer than the right whisker. This means that the distribution
is relatively skewed to the left.

Example 4.2.2:
Find the five-number summary and draw the box-and-whisker plot for the following ages (in
years) of the visitors of Mr. Cruz: 11, 12, 2, 6, 7, 8, 8, 13, 14, 15, 22, and 23.
Solution:
Step 1: Arrange the data from the lowest to highest.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th
2 6 7 8 8 11 12 13 14 15 22 23
Step 2: Find the lowest and highest observations of the data set.
lowest: 2
highest: 23
Step 3: Solve for the median/Q2 of the values.
Since the number of observations is 12. The positions of the median are in 6th and 7th.
11+12
Median/Q2 = 2 = 11.5

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Step 4: Solve for Q1 and Q3.
7+8
Subset 1: 2, 6, 7, 8, 8, 11 median = Q1 = 2 = 7.5
14+15
Subset 2: 12, 13, 14, 15, 22, 23 median = Q3 = 2
= 14.5

∴ lowest observation = 2, Q1 = 7.5, Q2 = 11.5, Q3 = 14.5, highest observation = 23

As revealed, the right whisker is longer than the left whisker. This means that the
distribution is skewed to the right.

Example 4.2.3:
Economics: Roberto works at a computer store. He records the number of sales he makes each
month. In the past 12 months, he sold the following numbers of computers:
51, 17, 25, 39, 7, 49, 62, 41, 20, 6, 43, 13
Find the five-number summary and draw the box-and-whisker plot of Roberto’s sales.
Solution:
Step 1: Arrange the data from the lowest to highest.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th
6 7 13 17 20 25 39 41 43 49 51 62
Step 2: Find the lowest and highest observations of the data set.
lowest: 6
highest: 62
Step 3: Solve for the median/Q2 of the values.
Since the number of observations is 12. The positions of the median are in 6thand 7th.
25+39
Median/Q2 = 2 = 32

Step 4: Solve for Q1 and Q3.

13+17
Subset 1: 6, 7, 13, 17, 20, 25 median = Q1 = 2 = 15
43+49
Subset 2: 39, 41, 43, 49, 51, 62 median = Q3 = 2
= 46

∴ lowest observation = 6, Q1 = 15, Q2 = 32, Q3 = 46, highest observation = 62

The box-and-whisker plot shows that the right whisker is longer than the left whisker
which means that the distribution is skewed to the right.

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 -=TARGET PRACTICE 4.2=-
Solve the following problems taken from different disciplines:
1. Education: The results of a General Science quiz given to 18 students are as follows:
87, 98, 88, 58, 76, 89, 62, 81, 57, 75, 71, 84, 90, 87, 84, 65, 75, and 96. Find the five-
number summary and draw the box-and-whisker plot of the results.

2. Agriculture: The following are weights (in kg) of 12 farmers: 88, 78, 78, 86, 59, 92, 81,
37, 95, 71, 75, and 96. Find the five-number summary and draw the box-and-whisker plot
of the weights.

3. Business: The prices of a twin-pack coffee sachet in seven stores are as follows: 12, 10,
11, 15, 10, 11, and 12. Find the five-number summary and draw the box-and-whisker plot
of the prices.