Measures of Central Tendency and Variability

LESSON 1: The Mean, Median, and Mode of Ungrouped Data

The Mean or Average of a set of numbers is their sum divided by how many
numbers there are. It gives equal weight to all scores. The mean is a better choice if
you want to include the effect of extreme values. When scores are scattered or there
are very few scores, the mean may be a better indicator than the median.
The 𝑥̅ of numbers x 1 , x2 , x 3 ,….. x nis

Σx x x 2+¿ x ¿
𝑥̅= or 𝑥̅ =
N
3…+x
1+¿ 4
¿
N

Σ x= the sum of score or weighted means

N= number of items or score in the sample

The mean (short of arithmetic mean) gives equal weight to all measurements.
The word “average” usually refers to the mean.

Example1. In a class, the commuting times, in minutes, were 30, 15, 12, 36, 12, 15,
15, 20, 45, 30, 15, and 20.
Given: N = 12
x 30+15+12+36+12+15+15+20+ 45+30+15+ 20 265
𝑥̅ = Σ =¿ = = 22.08
N 12 12

2. 30, 40, 90, 100, 100

x 30+40+ 90+100+100 360
𝑥̅ = Σ =¿ = = 72
N 5 5

The Median is the middle value of a set of numbers when the numbers are
arranged in order. If there is an even number of values, the median is the mean of two
middle values.
It is a better choice when you want to minimize the effect of an extreme value.
Since the median involves only the middle value or values, it is not affected by a
change in size of an extreme value.

Example1. To find the median of 30, 15, 12, 36, 12, 15, 15, 20, 45, 30, 15, and 20,
arrange the number in order from lowest to highest (highest to lowest).
(12, 12, 15, 15, 15, 15, 20, 20, 30, 30, 36, 45), the two middle numbers are 15 and
20, so the median is:
15+20 35
Md = = = 17.5
2 2

2. 100, 40, 30, 90, 100

(30, 40, 90, 100, 100)
Md = 90
3. 1,5,7,3,9,2,0,4,7,6,5,5
(0,1,2,3,4,5,5,5,6,7,7,9)
Md=5

The Mode It is the value with the greatest frequency.

To find the mode for a set of data:
1. Select the measure that appears most often in the set;
2. If two or more measures appear the same number of times, the each of these
values is a mode; and
3. If every measure appears the same number of times, then the set of data has
no mode.

Example: Find the mode in the given sets of scores.

1. (10, 12, 9, 10, 13, 11, 10)
Answer: 10
2. (15, 20, 18, 19, 18, 16, 20, 17)
Answer: 18 and 20
3. (12, 16, 14, 15, 16, 12, 11, 13, 14)
Answer: 12, 14, and 16
4. (1,2,3,4,5)
Answer: No mode

LESSON 2: Measures of Variability of Ungrouped data

The Range is the simplest measures of variability. It is the difference between

the largest value and the smallest value.
R=H–L
Where R = Range, H = Highest value, L = Lowest value
Example: 1. 10, 8, 9, 7, 5, and 3, what is the range?
R=H–L R = 10 – 3 R=7
2. 400, 450, 520, 380, 482, 495, 575, 450
R=H–L R = 575 – 380 R = 195

Variance is the square of the standard deviation.

Standard Deviation is the average amount by which individual data items in a set of
data differ from the arithmetic mean of all the data in the set. The standard deviation
is the square root of the variance.
To compute the standard deviation of an ungrouped data:
1. Find the mean.
2. Find the deviation from the mean.
3. Square the deviation.
4. Add all the squared deviations.
5. Tabulate the result obtained.
6. Compute the standard deviation (SD or ) using the formula.

SD =
√ Σ( x−x̅ ) ²
N
or =
√ Σ( x−x̅ ) ²
N
 Where SD = is the standard deviation
x = is the individual score
𝑥̅ = is the mean
N = is the number of scores.
Example1. Student’s score in Mathematics subject are 97, 92, 96, 95 and 90.
Solution
Step 1. Compute the mean score
x 97+92+ 96+95+ 90 470
𝑥̅ = Σ =¿ = = 94
N 5 5

Step 2. Compute the x−x̅

x x−x̅
97 97 – 94 = 3
92 92 – 94 = -2
96 96 – 94 = 2
95 95 – 94 = 1
90 90 – 94 = -4

Step 3: Compute the( x−x̅ ) ²

x x−x̅ ( x−x̅ ) ²
97 97 – 94 = 3 3² = 9
92 92 – 94 = -2 -2 ² = 4
96 96 – 94 = 2 2² = 4
95 95 – 94 = 1 1² = 1
90 90 – 94 = -4 -4² = 16
Σ( x−x̅ ) ² = 34

Step 4: Solve the variance

(Variance) ❑2=
Σ( x−x̅ ) ² 34 = 6.8
=¿
N 5
Step 5: Solve the standard deviation

(SD) =
√ Σ(x−x̅ ) ² =
N √ 34 =
5
√ 6.8 = 2.6

Example 2. 94, 94, 92, 94, and 96

Solution
Step 1. Compute the mean score
x 94+ 94+92+ 94+96 470
𝑥̅ = Σ =¿ = = 94
N 5 5

Step 2. Compute the x−x̅

x x−x̅
94 94 – 94 = 0
94 94 – 94 = 0
 92 92 – 94 = -2
94 92 – 94 = 0
96 96 – 94 = 2

Step 3: Compute the( x−x̅ ) ²

x x−x̅ ( x−x̅ ) ²
94 94 – 94 = 0 0² = 0
94 94 – 94 = 0 0²=0
92 92 – 94 = -2 -2² = 4
94 92 – 94 = 0 0² = 0
96 96 – 94 = 2 2² = 4
Σ( x−x̅ ) ² = 8

Step 4: Solve the variance

(Variance) ❑2=
Σ( x−x̅ ) ² 8
=¿ = 1.6
N 5
Step 5: Solve the standard deviation

(SD) =
√ Σ(x−x̅ ) ² =
N √ 34 =
5
√ 1.6 = 1.3