Mode

Mode is the value which has the greatest frequency density in its immediate
neighborhood.
The concept of mode, as a measure of central tendency, is preferable to mean and
median when it is desired to know the most typical value.
(a) When data are either in the form of individual observations or in the form of
ungrouped frequency distribution
Example 5
Compute mode of the following data :
3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 3, 6, 7, 9, 12, 10, 16, 18, 20, 10, 9, 8, 19, 11, 14, 10, 13, 17, 9, 11
 Mode
Values : 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Frequency: 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Mode = 10
Remarks :
• If the frequency of each possible value of the variable is same, there is no mode.
• If there are two values having maximum frequency, the distribution is said to be
bimodal
 Mode
Example 6
Compute mode of the following distribution:
X : 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
f: 2 4 6 10 15 9 5 4
Solution: The given distribution is fairly regular. Therefore, the mode can be determined
just by inspection. Since for X = 25 the frequency is maximum, mode = 25.
(b) When data are in the form of a grouped frequency distribution
The following steps are involved in the computation of mode from a grouped frequency
Distribution:
 Mode
1. Determination of modal class: It is the class in which mode of the distribution lies.
2. Use formula:

𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 − 𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸−1
𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑒 = 𝑥0𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 + ℎ𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸
𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 − 𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸−1 + (𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 − 𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸+1 )

or

𝑟𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 − 𝑟𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸−1
𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑒 = 𝑥0𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 + ℎ𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸
𝑟𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 − 𝑟𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸−1 + (𝑟𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 − 𝑟𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸+1 )
 MODE
Example 4
Suppose we wish to find the mode of the following frequency distribution.
Classes Frequency
𝒙𝟎𝒊 − 𝒙𝟏𝒊 𝒇𝒊
0-10 5
10-20 12
20-30 14
30-40 18
40-50 13
50-60 8
Σ 70
𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 − 𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸−1
𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑒 = 𝑥0𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 + ℎ
𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 − 𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸−1 + (𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸 − 𝑓𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸+1 ) 𝑀𝑂𝐷𝐸

18 − 14 4
= 30 + ∙ 10 = 30 + ∙ 10 = 34,44
18 − 14 + (18 − 13) 9
MODE
 MODE
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Mode
Advantages
• It is not distorted by extreme values of the observations.
• It is easy to calculate.
Disadvantages
• It cannot be used to calculate any further statistic.
• It may have more than one value (although this feature helps to
show the shape of the distribution).
 Measures od Dispersion

This describes the way in which the observations are spread about
the "centre", i.e. it is a measure of the variability of the data.
A summary of any set of data is not complete unless both a measure of
location and a measure of dispersion are given.
Measures od Dispersion

Distributions with different dispersions

 Measures od Dispersion
Data Set I: 40 38 42 40 39 39 43 40 39 40 Data Set II: 46 37 40 33 42 36 40 47 34 45
 The Range

The range of a data set is the number R defined by the formula

𝑅 = 𝑥𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑥𝑚𝑖𝑛
where 𝑥𝑚𝑎𝑥 is the largest measurement in the data set and 𝑥𝑚𝑖𝑛 is the
smallest.
Data Set I: 40 38 42 40 39 39 43 40 39 40
R=43-38=5
 The Range

Data Set II: 46 37 40 33 42 36 40 47 34 45

R=47-33=14
The range is a measure of variability because it indicates the size of the
interval over which the data points are distributed. A smaller range
indicates less variability (less dispersion) among the data, whereas a
larger range indicates the opposite.
 Quartiles
Median of a distribution divides it into two equal parts. It is also possible to divide it into
more than two equal parts. The values that divide a distribution into more than two
equal parts are commonly known as partition values or fractiles.
The values of a variable that divide a distribution into four equal parts are called
quartiles.
For a discrete distribution, the first quartile (𝑄1 ) is defined as that value of the variate
such that at least 25% of the observations are less than or equal to it and at least 75% of
the observations are greater than or equal to it.
 Quartiles
For a continuous or grouped frequency distribution, 𝑄1 is that value of the variate such
that the area under the histogram to the left of the ordinate at 𝑄1 is 25% and the area to
its right is 75%. The formula for the computation of 𝑄1 can be written by making suitable
changes in the formula of median.

𝑛 ℎ𝑄1 1 ℎ𝑄1
𝑄1 = 𝑥0𝑄1 + − 𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑓𝑄1−1 = 𝑥0𝑄1 + − 𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑟𝑓𝑄1−1
4 𝑓𝑄1 4 𝑟𝑓𝑄1

By definition, the second quartile is median of the distribution. The third quartile (𝑄3 ) of
a distribution can also be defined in a similar manner.
 Quartiles
For a discrete distribution, 𝑄3 is that value of the variate such that at least 75% of the
observations are less than or equal to it and at least 25% of the observations are greater
than or equal to it.
For a grouped frequency distribution, 𝑄3 is that value of the variate such that area under
the histogram to the left of the ordinate at 𝑄3 is 75% and the area to its right is 25%. The
formula for computation of 𝑄3 can be written as

3𝑛 ℎ𝑄3 3 ℎ𝑄3
𝑄3 = 𝑥0𝑄3 + − 𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑓𝑄3−1 = 𝑥0𝑄3 + − 𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑟𝑓𝑄3−1
4 𝑓𝑄3 4 𝑟𝑓𝑄3
 Deciles
Deciles divide a distribution into 10 equal parts and there are, in all, 9 deciles denoted as
𝐷1 , 𝐷2 , ...... 𝐷9 respectively.
For a discrete distribution, the i th decile 𝐷𝑖 is that value of the variable such that at least
(10i)% of the observation are less than or equal to it and at least (100 - 10i)% of the
observations are greater than or equal to it (i = 1, 2, ...... 9).
For a continuous or grouped frequency distribution, 𝐷𝑖 is that value of the variate such
that the area under the histogram to the left of the ordinate at 𝐷𝑖 is (10i)% and the area
to its right is (100 - 10i)%.
 Deciles
The formula for the i th decile can be written as:

𝑖𝑛 ℎ 𝐷𝑖 𝑖 ℎ 𝐷𝑖
𝐷𝑖 = 𝑥0𝐷𝑖 + − 𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑓𝐷𝑖 −1 = 𝑥0𝐷𝑖 + − 𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑟𝑓𝐷𝑖 −1
10 𝑓𝐷𝑖 10 𝑟𝑓𝐷𝑖