CHAPTER TWO

Descriptive Statistics:

•Descriptive statistics uses data that provides a description of the population either through numerical calculation

or graph or table.

•It provides a graphical summary of data.

•It is simply used for summarizing objects, etc.

•There are two categories in this as following below.

a) Measures of central tendency:

b) Measures of dispersion:
A) Measure of central tendency –

The measure of central tendency also known as summary statistics is used to represent the center point or a

particular value of a data set or sample set.

In statistics, there are three common measures of central tendency as shown below:

(i)Mean :
It is a measure of the average of all values in a sample set.

Formula:

Mean = (Sum of Observations) ÷ (Total Numbers of Observations)

 Mean Ungrouped Data

Example 1: Find the mean of the first five natural odd numbers, using the mean formula.

Solution:

The first five natural odd numbers = 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9

Using mean formula

Mean = {Sum of Observation} ÷ {Total numbers of Observations}

Mean = (1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9) ÷ 5 = 25/5 = 5
Example 2: The heights of five students are 161 in, 130 in, 145 in, 156 in, and,162 in respectively.

Find the mean height of the students.

Solution: To find the mean height of the students.

The heights of five students = 161 in, 130 in, 145 in, 156 in, and,162 in (given)

Sum of the heights of five students = (161 + 130 + 145 + 156 + 162) = 754

Using Mean Formula,

Mean = {Sum of Observation} ÷ {Total numbers of Observations} = 754/5 = 150.8

Example 3: A student scored 67, 56, 77, 68, 88, 90, 65, 53, 45, 71, 66, and 80 in twelve subjects in an exam What
is the mean score?

Solution:

Mean = {Sum of Observation} ÷ {Total numbers of Observations}

Sum of the student score = 67 + 56 + 77 + 68 +88 + 90 + 65+ 53+ 45+ 71+ 66 + 80 = 826

Total number of subjects = 12

Mean 826 /12= 68.83

Example 4: The mean monthly salary of 10 workers of a group is $1445. One more worker whose
monthly salary is $1500 has joined the group. Find the arithmetic mean of the monthly salary of 11
workers of the group.
Solution: Here, n = 10, x̄=1445

Using the formula,

x̄ = ∑xi/n

∴∑xi = x̄ × n

∑xi = 1445 × 10 = 14450

The total salary of 10 workers = $14450

Total salary of 11 workers = 14450 + 1500 = $15950

Average salary of 11 workers = 15950/11 = 1450

Answer: ∴ Average monthly salary of 11 workers = $1450

 Mean for Grouped Data

Example 1: Given below are marks (out of 100%) obtained by 100 Students in the examination find the mean?

Marks 30-35 35-40 40-45 45-50 50-55 55-60

Frequency 14 16 18 23 18 11
Solution:
Marks Mid-point(x) Freq (f) Fx
30-35 32.5 14 455.0
35-40 37.5 16 600.0
40-45 42.5 18 765.0
45-50 47.5 23 1092.5
50-55 52.5 18 945.0
55-60 57.5 11 632.5
Total -------- F=100 𝑓𝑥=4490

Mean Formula = 𝑓𝑥/f

=4490/100
=44.9
Example 2: following data gives the wages paid to 125 workers in the ministry of health; calculate the arithmetic
mean of the wages.

Wages No of workers
200-210 5
210-220 15
220-230 32
230-240 42
240-250 15
250-260 12
260-270 4
Solution:
Wages No of workers (f) Mid-point(x) Fx

200-210 5 205 1025

210-220 15 215 3225
220-230 32 225 7200
230-240 42 235 9870
240-250 15 245 3675
250-260 12 255 3060
260-270 4 265 1060
  125 -------- 29115

Mean= /
=29115/125
=232.92
Example 3: Below are the heights of semester eight information technology students at PSU.
Use it to calculate the mean height for the data.

Height (cm) Frequency

154 4
155 6
160 8
164 5
171 4
180 3
Solution

Height (x) Frequency ( f ) fx

154 4 616
155 6 930
160 8 1280
164 5 820
171 4 684
180 3 540
  å f = 30 å fx = 4870

Mean= å fx
åf

Mean= 4870/30
= 162.33cm
Exercise:
1) Find the mean of the following data.

Class Interval 50 - 70 70 - 90 90 - 110 110 - 130 130 - 150 150 - 170

Frequency 15 10 20 22 16 17
2) There are 40 students in Grade 8. The marks obtained by the students in
mathematics are tabulated below. Calculate the mean marks.

Marks Obtained Number of students

100 6

95 8

88 10

76 9

69 7
3) Find the mean of the following data.

Class Interval 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50

Frequency 12 16 6 7 9
 Assumed mean Method for Finding the Arithmetic Mean
The following steps describe this method.
Step 1: Calculate the class marks (mid-point) of each class (xi).
Step 2: Let A denote the assumed mean of the data.
Step 3: Find deviation (di) = xi – A
Step 4: Use the formula:
x̄ = A + (∑fidi/∑fi)
Example 1: Let's understand this with the help of the following example.
Calculate the mean of the following using the assumed mean method.

Class-Intervals 45-50 50-55 55-60 60-65 65-70 70-75 75-80

Frequency 5 8 30 25 14 12 6
Solution: 
Let us make the calculation table. Let the assumed mean be A = 62.5

Class- Interval Class mark/ Mid-points (xi) fi di = (xi - A) fidi

45-50 47.5 5 47.5-62.5 =-15 -75

50-55 52.5 8 52.5-62.5 =-10 -80
55-60 57.5 30 57.5-62.5 =-5 -150
60-65 62.5 25 62.5-62.5 =0 0
65-70 67.5 14 67.5-62.5 =5 70
70-75 72.5 12 72.5-62.5 =10 120
75-80 77.5 6 77.5-62.5 =15 90
    ∑fi=100   ∑fidi= -25
Mean(x̄) = A + (∑fidi/∑fi)
= 62.5 + (−25/100) 
= 62.5 − 0.25 
= 62.25
Example 2: The table given below shows the marks obtained by 110 students in class. What will be the mean
marks of the students? Use the assumed mean method.

Class 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50

Frequency 12 28 32 25 13
Solution:

Class (Ci) Frequency (fi) Class mark (xi) di = xi – a fidi

0-10 12 5 5 – 25 = – 20 -240
10-20 28 15 15 – 25 = – 10 -280
20-30 32 25 = a 25-25 = 0 0
30-40 25 35 35-25 = 10 250
40-50 13 45 45-25 = 20 260
Total Σfi =110 Σfidi = -10

Let us take Assumed mean = a = 25

Using the Assumed Mean Method 
Mean = a+ (Σfidi /Σfi)
= 25 + (-10/ 110)
= 25 -( 1/11)
= (275-1)/11
= 274/11 = 24.9
Thus, the mean marks of the students in the class are 24.9.
Exercise:
1. Find the mean of the following data by the assumed mean method.

Class Interval 20 – 60 60 – 100 100 – 150 150 – 250 250 – 350 350 – 4507

frequency 7 5 16 12 2 3
2. A group of students was surveyed as a part of their environmental
awareness.

Number of plants  0-2 2-4 4-6 6 - 8  8 - 10 10 - 12 12 - 14

Number of houses 1 2 1 5 6 2 3
 Step Deviation Method for Finding the Arithmetic Mean

This is also called the change of origin or scale method. The following steps describe this
method:

Step 1: Calculate the class marks of each class (xi).

Step 2: Let A denote the assumed mean of the data.

Step 3: Find ui = (xi−A)/h, where h is the class size.

Step 4: Use the formula:

x̄ = A + h × (∑fiui/∑fi)
Example 1: Consider the following example to understand this method. Find the arithmetic
mean of the following using the step-deviation method.

Class Intervals 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 Total

Frequency 4 4 7 10 12 8 5 50
Solution: To find the mean, we first have to find the class marks and decide on A (assumed mean).
Let A = 35 Here h (class width) = 10

C.I. xi fi ui=(xi−A)/h fiui

0-10 5 4 -3 4 x (-3)=-12
10-20 15 4 -2 4 x (-2)=-8
20-30 25 7 -1 7 x (-1)=-7
30-40 35 10 0 10 x 0= 0
40-50 45 12 1 12 x 1=12
50-60 55 8 2 8 x 2=16
60-70 65 5 3 5 x 3=15
Total   ∑fi=50   ∑fiui=16

Using the mean formula:

x̄ = A + h × (∑fiui/∑fi)
=35 + (16/50) ×10
= 35 + 3.2
Mean = 38.2
Example 2: Find the mean percentage of the work completed for a project in a
country where the assumed mean is 50, the class size is 20, the frequency is 100,
and the product of the frequency and deviation is - 42. Solve this by using the
step-deviation method.
Solution: 
a = 50, h = 20, fi = 100, fiui = - 42
Using the step deviation method formula,
Step Deviation of Mean = a + h [∑uifi / ∑fi]
= 50 + 20 [-42/100]
= 50 - 42/5
= 50 - 8.4
= 41.6
Therefore, the mean percentage is 41.6.
Exercise:
Question 1: The weight of 50 apples was recorded as given below.

Weight in grams 80-85 85-90 90-95 95-100 100-105 105-110 110-115

Number of apples 5 8 10 12 8 4 3
Question 2: The following table gives marks scored by students in an examination:

Marks 0-5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-35 35-40

Number of students 3 7 15 24 16 8 5 2
ii) Median :
It is a measure of the central value of a sample set. In these, the data set is ordered from lowest to highest value
and then finds the exact middle.
Example 1
Find the median of this data:
1, 4, 2, 5, 0

Put the data in order first:

0, 1, 2,4, 5

There is an odd number of data points, so the median is the middle data point.

0, 1, 2,4, 5

The median is 2.

Example 2

The median formula is {(n + 1) ÷ 2}th, where “n” is the number of items in the set and “th” just means the (n)th
number.

To find the median, first order the numbers from smallest to largest. Then find the middle number.

For example, the middle for this set of numbers is 5, because 5 is right in the middle:
1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9.
You get the same result with the formula. There are 7 numbers in the set, so n = 7:

{(7 + 1) ÷ 2}th
= {(8) ÷ 2}th
= {4}th
The 4th number in 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9 is 5.
Example question: Find the median for the following data set:
102, 56, 34, 99, 89, 101, 10.

Step 1: Sort your data from the smallest number to the highest number. For this example data set, the
order is:
10, 34, 56, 89, 99, 101, 102.

Step 2: Find the number in the middle (where there are an equal number of data points above and below the
number):
10, 34, 56, 89, 99, 101, 102.
The median is 89.
Example question: Find the median for the following data set:
102, 56, 34, 99, 89, 101, 10, 54.
Step 1: Place the data in ascending order (smallest to highest).
10, 34, 54, 56, 89, 99, 101, 102.
Step 2: Find the TWO numbers in the middle (where there are an equal number of data points above and below
the two middle numbers).
10, 34, 54, 56, 89, 99, 101, 102
Step 3: Add the two middle numbers and then divide by two, to get the average

56+89=145

Then 145 / 2 = 72.5

 The median for grouped data
The median for grouped data is obtained using the following formula.
Median= L+h/f (n/2-c)
• Where, 
• l = lower limit of median class.
• h = width of median class.
• f = frequency of median class, 
• cf = cumulative frequency of the class preceding the median class.
Example1
Following are the heights in (m) of 50 students to find the median height.

Heights 109.5-114.5 114.5-119.5 119.5-124.5 124.5-129.5 129.5-134.5

No .students 5 12 23 6 4
Solution

Heights No. of students C. freq

109.5-114.5 5 5
114.5-119.5 12 17
119.5-124.5 23 40
124.5-129.5 6 46
129.5-134.5 4 50

L=119.5, h=5, n=50, C=17, f=23

Median= L+h/f (n/2-c)
Median = 119.5+5/23(50/2-17)
=119.5+5/23(25-17)
=119.5+40/23
=121.24
Example2

Wages($) No of workers

800-1000 18
1000-1200 25
1200-1400 30
1400-1600 34
1600-1800 26
1800-2000 10
Solution

Wages($) No of workers Cf
800-1000 18 18
1000-1200 25 43
1200-1400 30 73
1400-1600 34 107
1600-1800 26 133
1800-2000 10 143
Now the median value is N/2=143/2=71.5
Therefore the item which lies in the class (1200-1400), thus (1200-1400) is the median class
L=1200, h=200 f= 30 n=143, C=43
Median= L+h/f (n/2-c) = 1200+200/30(143/2-43)
Median= $1390
Example 3: Calculate the median for the following data:

Marks 0 - 20 20 - 40 40 - 60 60 - 80 80 - 100

Number of students 6 20 37 10 7
Solution:
• We need to calculate the cumulative frequencies to find the median.

Marks Number of students Cumulative frequency

0 - 20 6 0+6 6

20 - 40 20 6 + 20 26

40 - 60 37 26 + 37 63

60 - 80 10 63 + 10 73

80 - 100 7 73 + 7 80
• N = sum of cf = 80, N/2 = 80/2 = 40
• Since n is even, we will find the average of the n/2 th and the (n/2
+1)th observation i.e. the cumulative frequency greater than 40 is 63 and the
class is 40 - 60. Hence, the median class is 40 - 60.
l = 40, f = 37, c = 26, h = 20 
Using the Median formula:
Median = l + h/f(n/2−c)/]
= 40 + 20/37(80/2-26)
= 40 + 20/37(40-26)
= 40 + 20/37(14)
= 40 + 280/37
= 40+7.56
= 47.56
Therefore, the median is 47.56.
Exercise:
1) Calculate the median for the following frequency distribution.

Class Interval 0-8 8-16 16-24 24-32 32-40 40-48

Frequency 8 10 16 24 15 7

2) A survey on the heights (in cm) of 50 girls of class X was conducted at a

school and the following data were obtained:

Height (in cm) 120-130 130-140 140-150 150-160 160-170

Number of girls 2 8 12 20 8
iii) Mode :
It is the value most frequently arrived in the sample set. The value repeated most of the time in the central set is
the actual mode.
Example 1: What is the Mode of 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7

Well ... 4 occurs twice but 6 also occurs twice.

So both 4 and 6 are modes.

Example 2: Find the mode of the given data set: 3, 3, 6, 9, 15, 15, 15, 27, 27, 37, 48.

Solution:  In the following list of numbers,

3, 3, 6, 9, 15, 15, 15, 27, 27, 37, 48

15 is the mode since it is appearing more times in the set compared to other numbers.
Example 3: Find the mode of 4, 4, 4, 9, 15, 15, 15, 27, 37, 48 data set.

Solution: Given 4, 4, 4, 9, 15, 15, 15, 27, 37, 48 is the data set.

As we know, a data set or set of values can have more than one mode if more than one value occurs with equal
frequency and number of times compared to the other values in the set.

Hence, here both the numbers 4 and 15 are modes of the set.
 Mode for grouped data
The mode for grouped data can be calculated by the following formula
M= L+ (fm-f1)*h
(Fm-f1) + (fm-f2)

Example1
Following are heights in (m) of 50 students find the modal height

Height No of students
109.5-114.5 5
114.5-119.5 12
119.5-124.5 23
124.5-129.5 6
129.5-134.5 4
Solution
We can see from column (2) of the table that the maximum frequency of 23 lies in the heights of „between 19.5-124.5 this
suggests that the mode lies in these heights applying the formula given.
M= L+ (fm-f1)*h
(Fm-f1) + (fm-f2)
Lm = Lower medium
Fm = Frequency medium
Lm=119.5, Fm=23, F1=12, F2=6 h=5

M= 119.5+ (23-12)*5
(23-12) + (23-6)

=119.5+55/11+17
=119.5+55/28
=121.46
Example2: The following are marks obtained by semester eight information technology students find the modal marks?

Class interval(I) Freq

30-40 4
40-50 6
50-60 8
60-70 12
70-80 9
80-90 7
90-100 4
Solution

M = L+ (fm-f1) *h

(Fm-f1) + (fm-f2)

M = 60+ (12-8)*10
(12-8) + (12-9)

M = 65.7
Example 3: A survey on the heights (in cm) of 30 students of the same batch
was conducted at a school. The data so obtained has been organized in the table
given below. Find the mode.

Height (in cm) Number of students

120 - 125 3

125 - 130 5

130 - 135 11

135 - 140 6

140 - 145 5

Total 30
Solution:
• Modal class = 130 - 135
• Lower limit of the modal class = (L) = 130
• Frequency of the modal class = (f)1= 11
• Frequency of the preceding modal class = (f)0= 5
• Frequency of the next modal class = (f)2(= 6
• Size of the class interval = (h) = 5
Mode = L + (f1−f0)/(2f1−f0−f2)*
Putting the values in the formula,
Mode = 130 + (11-5)/(2×11-5-6)5
= 130 + (6/11)(5) = 130 + 0.54×5 = 132.72
Therefore, mode = 132.72
Exercise:
1) Find the mode for the grouped data organized in the table given below.

Class Interval Frequency

10 - 20 8

20 - 30 15

30 - 40 12

40 - 50 5

Total 40
2) Observe the following table and find the mode.

Class Interval 10 - 20 20 - 30 30 - 40 40 - 50
Frequency 8 12 22 17
iv) Quartile:
Quartiles divide the entire set into four equal parts. So, there are three quartiles, first, second, and third
represented by Q1, Q2, and Q3, respectively.

Q2 is nothing but the median, since it indicates the position of the item in the list and thus, is a positional
average.

To find quartiles of a group of data, we have to arrange the data in ascending order.
Quartiles Formula

Suppose, Q3 is the upper quartile is the median of the upper half of the data set. Whereas, Q1 is the lower quartile
and median of the lower half of the data set. Q2 is the median.

Consider, we have n number of items in a data set.

Then the quartiles are given by;

•Q1 = [(n+1)/4]th item

•Q2 = [(n+1)/2]th item

•Q3 = [3(n+1)/4]th item

Quartiles Examples

Example 1: Find the quartiles of the following data: 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 23, 34.

Solution: Here the numbers are arranged in ascending order and the number of items, n = 7

•Lower quartile, Q1 = [(n+1)/4] th item

Q1= 7+1/4 = 2nd item = 6

•Median, Q2 = [(n+1)/2]th item

Q2= 7+1/2 item = 4th item = 8

•Upper Quartile, Q3 = [3(n+1)/4]th item

Q3 = 3(7+1)/4 item = 6th item = 23

Example 2: Calculate the median, lower quartile, upper quartile, and interquartile range of the
following data set of values: 20, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 26.
Solution:
Arranging the values in ascending order: 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
Putting the values in the formulas above we get,
Lower Quartile (Q1) = Mean of 2nd and 3rd term = (20 + 21)/2 = 20.5
Median(Q2) = 5th Term = 23
Upper Quartile(Q3) = Mean of 7th and 8th term = (25 + 26)/2 = 25.5
IQR = Upper Quartile−Lower Quartile
IQR = 25.5 – 20.5
IQR = 5
Answer: IQR = 5
Example 3: What will be the upper quartile for the following set of numbers?
26, 19, 5, 7, 6, 9, 16, 12, 18, 2, 1.

Solution:

The formula for the upper quartile formula is Q3 = ¾(n + 1)th Term.

The formula instead of giving the value for the upper quartile gives us the place.

For example, 8th place, 10th place, etc.

So firstly we put your numbers in ascending order: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 16, 18, 19, 26.

There are a total of 11 numbers, so:

Q3 = ¾(n + 1)th Term.

Q3 = ¾(12)th Term. = 9th Term.

Solution: 

The upper quartile (18) is the 9th term or on the 9th place from the left.
v) Percentile.

Percentile is defined as the value below which a given percentage falls under. For example, in a group of 20
children, Ben is the 4th tallest and 80% of the children are shorter than you. 

Percentile Formula

P = (n/N) × 100

Where,
n = ordinal rank of the given value or value below the number
N = number of values in the data set
P = percentile
Or
Percentile = (Number of Values Below “x” / Total Number of Values) × 100
Example 1: The scores obtained by 10 students are 38, 47, 49, 58, 60, 65, 70, 79, 80, 9and 2 Using the
percentile formula, calculate the percentile for score 70.

Solution:

Given:

Scores obtained by students are 38, 47, 49, 58, 60, 65, 70, 79, 80, 92

Number of scores below 70 = 6

Using the percentile formula,

Percentile = (Number of Values Below “x” / Total Number of Values) × 100.

Percentile of 70

= (6/10) × 100

= 0.6 × 100 = 60

Therefore, the percentile for score 70 = 60

Example 2: The weights of 10 people were recorded in kg as 35, 41, 42, 56, 58, 62, 70, 71, 90, 77 Find the
percentile for the weight 58 kg.

Solution:

Given:

The weights of the people are 35, 41, 42, 56, 58, 62, 70, 71, 77, 90

Number of people with weight below 58 kg = 4

Using the percentile formula,

Percentile = (Number of Values Below “x” / Total Number of Values) × 100.

Percentile for weight 58 kg

= (4/10) × 100

= 0.4 × 100 = 40

Therefore, the percentile for weight 58 kg = 40

Example 3: In a college, a list of scores of 10 students are announced. The scores are 56, 45, 69, 78, 72, 94,
82, 80, 63, and 59 Using the percentile formula, find the 70th percentile.
Solution: Arrange the data in ascending order 45, 56, 59, 63, 69, 72, 78, 80, 82, 94
Find the rank,
Rank = Percentile ÷ 100
Rank = 70 ÷ 100 = 0.7
So, the rank is 0.7
Find the percentile using the formula,
Percentile = Rank × Total number of the data set
Percentile = 0.7 × 10
Percentile = 7
Now, counting 7 values from left to right we reach 80, and we can say that all the values below 80 will come
under the 70th percentile. In other words, 70% of the values are below 80.
Therefore, the 70th percentile is 80.