Statistics
PART 3
By
O.A Esan
Walter Sisulu University
Measure of Central Tendency
The measure of central tendency are the average of the frequency
distribution.
These averages are the mean, mode and median
Example:
Baseball players scored the following:10,12,12, 18, 7,3. find the mean
Solution
Mean=10+12+12+18+7+3/6
mean = 62/6 =10.3
Mean
The mean of a set of numbers or values x1, x2, x3,….xn is the average of the
numbers.
The mean is denoted by
Example
Find the mean of the following set of numbers
i) 0, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 4
ii) 3, 9, 11, 28, 37, 20
iii) 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 8, 8, 9
Solution
The mean
ii) 3, 9, 11, 28, 37, 20
Solution
Mean=3+9+11+28+37+20/6
mean=108/6=18
Calculating the mean from a frequency distribution
table
First method:
If the value x1, x2, x3,…, xn occur with frequencies f1, f2, f3,…, fn
respectively, then the mean is given by
Where f is the frequency, x is the class marks or midpoint and ∑ means the
sum of x.
This method is usually used for an ungrouped data. X represents the values
(i.e., the marks or class).
However for a grouped data, x represents the class midpoint or mid values of
each class.
Example
In a workshop, the times taken by 120 trainee to identify a fault in a machine
are shown in table below. Find the mean
Time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
No of 2 3 5 10 15 30 25 15 10 5
Trainee
Solution
Time No. of Trainees (f) fx
1 2 2
2 3 6
3 5 15
4 10 40
5 15 75
6 30 180
7 25 175
8 15 120
9 10 90
10 5 50
∑ f = 120 ∑fx =753
The mean = 753/120 =6,275
Second method (Assumed mean method)
If we assume or guess that the mean is say A, and the difference between the
assumed mean, A and the class mid-point or mid-value of each xi is di(called
the deviation), then the mean is given by:
Where di = xi – A and xi= class midpoints.
Example
The following table shows the distribution of weekly wages earned by some
construction workers in South Africa.
Wages 40 – 49 50 – 59 60 – 69 70 – 79 80 – 89 90 – 99 100 – 109 110 - 119
No. of 4 12 18 11 7 5 2 1
workers
Using an assumed mean of 74.50, calculate correct to the nearest Rands the
mean.
solution
Using an assumed mean, A = 74.50, we form the table below
Wages No. of Class Deviation fd
workers (f) midpoint d = (x – A)
(x)
40 – 49 4 44.50 -30 -120
50 – 59 12 54.50 -20 -240
60 – 69 18 64.50 -10 -180
70 – 79 11 74.50 0 0
80 – 89 7 84.50 10 70
90 – 99 5 94.50 20 100
100 – 109 2 104.50 30 60
110 - 119 1 114.50 40 40
∑f = 60 ∑fd = -270
Note that column =fd column * the d column
The mean, = 74.50 - 4.50 = R70.00 to the nearest Rand
Mode
Mode of a set of numbers or values (raw data)
The mode (or the modal value) of a set of numbers is the number which
occurs most frequently.
Example the of these numbers 3, 2, 2, 4, 3, 5, 4, 2, 4, 2, 3 is 2, since is the
most frequent occurring number
Mode of an ungrouped data
The mode is the value with the largest frequency.
The mode can be read directly from the frequency table.
Note that the mode is the value, not the frequency
Example
This frequency table below shows the number of children in each of the 30
families. What is the mode of the data?
No. of 0 1 2 3 4
children
No. of 3 9 11 4 2
families
Solution
The largest frequency is 11. 11 families each had 2 children.
Therefore, the mode of the data is 2
The mode of a grouped data
For a grouped data, the modal class is the class with the largest frequency.
Computing the mode of a grouped data
The formula used is:
Where = excess of modal frequency over frequency of the next-
lower class.
= excess of modal frequency over frequency of the next-higher class.
= lower class boundary of the modal class.
C= size of the modal class interval.
Example
The following table represents the percentage of family income allocated to
groceries per month of 60 shoppers.
Percentage Frequency
10 – 19 7
20 – 29 15
30 – 39 17
40 – 49 12
50 – 59 5
60 - 69 4
Compute the mode for the above data.
Solution
Modal class: 30 – 39, c = 9, = 17 – 15 = 2, = = 17 – 12 = 15,
= 30
Using formula
=32.57
Median
The median of a set of numbers or values
The median of a set of numbers is the middle value or the arithmetic mean of
the two middle values, if they are arranges in increasing order of
magnitude.
To find the median of a set of ‘n’ numbers x1, x2, x3,….xn
1) Arrange the numbers in order of magnitude
2) if n is odd value then the median is the middle item i.e., ½(n + 1)th item
or observation
3) if n is even value then the median is the arithmetic mean of the two
middle ites, i.e., the ½(n)th and (1/2n + 1)th items or ½(n)th and the item
after it.
Example
Find the median of the following set of numbers
i)2, 1, 2, 3, 5
ii)3, 7, 2, 9, 8, 11, 12
iii) 3, 7, 4, 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 8
Solution
i) Re-arrange the numbers in ascending order (starting from smallest) i.e. 1,
2, 2, 3, 5.
n=5 which is odd number, therefore the median is the ½(5 +1)th i.e. 3 rd item.
Hence, the median is 2
ii) re-arrange the numbers in ascending order i.e. 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12
n = 7 which is odd number, therefore the median is the ½(7+1)th i.e. 4 th item.
Hence median is 8.
Median from a frequency distribution
table (ungrouped data)
i) Find the total frequency i.e., f or N
ii) if n is odd number, then the median is the ½(f+1)th item or observation.
For example, if f =19, then the median is the ½(19 + 1)th item or observation.
i.e., the 10th item
Remember that the median is the value not the frequency. That of grouped
frequency distribution table, we can find the median class.
Example
The frequency table below gives the age distribution of students who offered
mathematics in a certain school.
Ages 17 18 19 20 21
No. of 3 10 8 5 2
students
i) how many students offered mathematics?
ii) What is the median age?
Solution
The number of students = 3 + 10 + 8 + 5 + 2 = 28
To find the median.
First find the total frequency = 28, which is even.
Half the total frequency ½(28) = 14.
The median is the mean of the 14th and 15th observations.
Now, add the frequencies, starting from 3, until you get the age
corresponding to the 14th and 15th observation.
From the table 14th observation is 19 and 15th observation is 19. therefore, the
median age is ½(19 + 19) = 19years
