Republic of the Philippines

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

Office of the Vice President for Branches and Campuses
QUEZON CITY BRANCH
LESSON 4

Measures of Central Tendencies

• Calculate the mean, median, mode and midrange as measures of the center of a given
data distribution.
• Discuss the properties of mean, median, mode and midrange.
• Introduce quantiles and the types of distribution
• Compute the weighted mean, geometric mean and combined mean.
• Calculate the mean, median and mode as measures of the center of a given data
distribution.

Measure of central tendency is usually called average. It is a single value that

represents a data set. It is the locator of the center of the data set. We will illustrate how
to compute or calculate it. In this section you can understand what is the purpose of
mean, median and mode for the grouped data, including how to analyze and compute
quartile, decile and percentile for the grouped data also.
Measures of Central Tendency or Average
Average plays a very important role in our daily life and it is an important tool in
statistics. Mean, median, and mode are three kinds of "averages" or sometimes called
measures of central tendency. There are many "averages" in statistics, but these are, I
think, the three most common, and are certainly the three you are most likely to
encounter in your pre-statistics courses, if the topic comes up at all.

MEAN
Most commonly used measures of central tendency. When we speak of getting the
average, we always refer to the mean.
Sample Mean - The sample mean is obtained by adding all the values in your sample and
dividing by the sample size (which is usually denoted by small n). In mathematical
notation, we have
Σ𝑥
𝑥̅ =
𝑛
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POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Office of the Vice President for Branches and Campuses
QUEZON CITY BRANCH
Notice that the symbol for the sample mean is 𝑥̅, an x with a bar above, and it is read as x bar.
The symbol Σ is the summation sign in mathematics, which means that you should add
up all the values in your sample.

Example 1
Paul Cedric collects the data on the ages of respondents of doctoral
degree in educational management, and his study yields the following:
25 25 24 32 35 35 35 45 43 42 44
Determine the average age of the respondents.

Solution
The mean is the sum of the ages and then dividing by the total
number of respondents.

25+25+ 24+32+35+35+35+45+43+42+44
mean = 𝑥̅ =
11

𝑥̅ = 385 = 35
11

Therefore, the average age is 35 years old.

Example 2
If the ages you collected are 22, 21, 48, and 21, then the sample values are written
as
𝑥1 = 22, 𝑥2 = 21, 𝑥3 = 48, 𝑥4 = 21.
Solution
for this particular example, the mean is
𝑥1+ 𝑥2+ 𝑥3+ 𝑥4 22+21+48+21 112
𝑥̅ = = = = 28
4 4 4

Population Mean - If we were to calculate the mean from a population

instead of a sample, then we would still proceed in the same way, we would add
up all the values in the population (more values to add) and we would divide by
the population size (denoted by N).
The symbol for the population mean is the Greek letter μ:mu, so we obtain
Σ𝑥
𝜇=
𝑁

Example 3
In the case of the population of students in the classroom with the following ages:
20 21 21 24 25 25 25 25 25 27 27 27 27 27 26 26 26 23 23 28 28 29 29 29
29.
Solution
𝜇=
20+21+21+24+25+25+25+25+25+27+27+27+27+27+26+26+26+23+23+28+28+29+29+29+29
25

𝜇 = 642
25 𝜇 = 25.68 Therefore the average age of the class is 25.68 years old.
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POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Office of the Vice President for Branches and Campuses
QUEZON CITY BRANCH

Example 4
Eight students have scores of 15, 12, 12, 11, 10, 14, 13, and 14. The mean is
15+12+12+11+10+14+13+14 101
𝑥̅ = = = 12.63
8 8

For group data, it involves organizing n observed values into smaller number of
disjoint groups of values and counting the frequency of each group; it is often presented
as a frequency table. The following are the steps in solving for the mean of grouped
data.
1. Find the midpoint for each class. Place them in a column.
2. Multiply the frequency by the midpoint for each class. Place them in another column.
3. Find the sum of the resulting column in step 2.
4. Divide the sum obtained in step 3 by the total number of frequencies. That is,

mean = ∑𝑓 ∙ 𝑥𝑚
𝑛
Example 5
Seventy randomly selected televisions were tested to determine their lifetimes (in months).
The following frequency distribution was obtained.

Classes Frequency
21 – 29 4
30 – 38 10
39 – 47 23
48 – 56 16
57 – 65 12
66 – 74 5

Determine the mean lifetimes (in months) of these television sets.

Solution

Step 1 Find the midpoints of each class and place the values on the
third column.

𝑥𝑛 21+29
= = 25, etc.
2
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POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Office of the Vice President for Branches and Campuses
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Step 2 Next, multiply the midpoint by the frequency for each class and place the
results on the fourth column.
(25)(4) = 100, etc.
Step 3 Find the sum of the fourth column.
∑𝑓 ∙ 𝑥𝑚 = 3 343
Step 4 Divide the sum by n.
𝑥̅ = ∑𝑓 ∙ 𝑥𝑚 = 3343 = 47.76 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠
n 70

Hence, the mean lifetime of the television sets is 47.76 months. These steps are
summarized in the following table.

Class Boundaries Frequency Midpoints 𝑓 ∙ 𝑥𝑚

21 - 29 4 25 100
30 - 38 10 34 340
39 - 47 23 43 989
48 - 56 16 52 832
57 - 65 12 61 732
66 - 74 5 70 350
N = 70 Total = 3343

Example 6
Forty randomly chosen patients with dengue were considered for the study.
Determine the average age of patients affected by dengue.

Age No. of Patients

5–9 5
10 – 14 10
15 – 19 6
20 – 24 7
25 – 29 6
30 – 34 4
35 – 39 2
n = 40
Solution

Step 1 Find the midpoint of each class

Step 2 Multiply the midpoint (x) by the frequency (f) and set the sum
for all classes ( ∑𝑓𝑥 )
Step 3 Divide the sum ( ∑𝑓𝑥 ) by n to get the mean (𝑥̅ )
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POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Office of the Vice President for Branches and Campuses
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Age Frequency (f) Midpoints (x) 𝑓 ∙ 𝑥𝑚

5–9 5 7 35
10 – 14 10 12 120
15 – 19 6 17 102
20 – 24 7 22 154
25 – 29 6 27 162
30 – 34 4 32 128
35 – 39 2 37 74
n = 40 ∑𝑓𝑥 = 775

∑𝑓𝑥
Mean = 𝑥̅ =
𝑛
775
𝑥̅ =
40

𝑥̅ = 19.375
Therefore, the average age of the patients in the hospital affected with
dengue is 19 years old.

Example 7
To get the profile of freshmen, 62 students were asked for their daily allowance.
Determine the average allowance given the following distribution:

Daily Allowance No of Students (f) Midpoint (x) 𝑓𝑥

50 – 59 2 54.5
60 – 69 4 64.5
70 – 79 6 74.5
80 – 89 10 84.5
90 – 99 18 94.5
100 – 109 12 104.5
110 – 119 6 114.5
120 – 129 4 124.5
n = 62 ∑𝑓𝑥 = 5799

Mean = 𝑥̅ = ∑𝑓𝑥
𝑛

5799
𝑥̅ =
62 𝑥̅ = 93.53 ≈ 94
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POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Office of the Vice President for Branches and Campuses
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MEDIAN
The median of a set of data values is the middle value of the data set when it
has been arranged in ascending order. That is, from the smallest value to the highest
value.

Example 6 The grades of 8 students in Mathematics test that had a maximum

possible mark of 50 are given below:
45 22 35 30 38 48 29
Find the median of this set of data values.
Solution: Arrange the data values in order from the lowest value to the highest value:
22 29 30 35 38 45 48
Select the middle value.
22 29 30 35 38 45 48
The fourth value, 35, is the middle value in this arrangement.
Median = 35

Example 7 Ten books were randomly selected and the numbers of pages were
recorded as follows:
550, 500, 465, 601, 610, 480, 510, 580, 600, 475
Solution Arrange the data values in order from the lowest value to the highest
value: 465, 475, 480, 500, 510, 550, 580, 600,
601, 610
The number of values in the data set is 10, which is even. So, the median
is the average of the two middle values.
5𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒+6𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
Median = 2
510+550 1060
= = = 530
2 2
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POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Office of the Vice President for Branches and Campuses
QUEZON CITY BRANCH

Example 8 Find the median of the data in Example 5.

Solution Step 1 Make a column for the cumulative frequency.

Midpoints cumulative
Class boundaries Frequency f.Xm
(Xm) frequency

20-30 4 25 100 4
30-40 10 35 350 14

40-50 23 45 1035 37

50-60 16 55 880 53
60-70 12 65 780 65

70-80 5 75 375 70

TOTAL 70 3520

Step 2 Divide n = 70 by 2 to get the halfway point, which is 35.

Step 3 Find the class that contains the 35th value by using the
cumulative frequency distribution. Since 35 is less than 37,
then the median class is the third class.

Step 4 Using formula,

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70
− 14
𝑋𝑚𝑑 = 40 + ( 2 )(10)
23

The median is 49.13 months.

MODE
A statistical term that refers to the most frequently occurring number found in a set of
numbers. The mode is found by collecting and organizing the data in order to count the
frequency of each result. The result with the highest occurrences is the mode of the set.
The mode for grouped data is the modal class. If no number is repeated, then there is
no mode for the list.

Example 9
Find the mode for the following list values:

7 7 7 5 8 9 9 9 10

The mode is the number repeated most often. This list has two values
that are repeated three times.

mode = 7 and 9

Example 10 From the data in Example 4, the class with the largest frequency is the third class.
Therefore, this is the modal class.
Class Boundaries Frequency
20 – 30 4
30 – 40 10
𝑑1 = 23 − 10 = 13
Modal class 40 – 50 23
50 – 60 16 𝑑2 = 23 − 16 = 7
60 – 70 12
70 – 80 5
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The mode is the only measure of central tendency that can be used in
finding the most typical case when the data are nominal or categorical.

Grouped Mode
𝒅𝟏
𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑒 (𝑀𝑜) = 𝑳𝒎𝒐 + (𝒅𝟏+𝒅𝟐)(𝒘)

𝟏𝟑
𝑿𝒎𝒐 = 𝟒𝟎 + ( ) (𝟏𝟎) = 𝟒𝟔. 𝟓
𝟏𝟑 + 𝟕
Drill 1 Given the following frequency table, find the mean, median and mode.
Class Boundaries frequency Class Mark 𝑓 ∙ 𝑥𝑚 cf
12.5 – 16.5 8
16.5 – 20.5 35
20.5 – 24.5 55
24.5 – 28.5 86
28.5 – 32.5 60
32.5 – 36.5 2
36.5 – 40.5 1

Mean = Median = Mode =

MIDRANGE
This is a rough estimate of the middle. It is found by getting the average of the
lowest and highest value of the data.
𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒+ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
𝑀𝑖𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 (𝑀𝑅) = 2
Example 12 The calories per serving of 15 fruit juices are as follows:
80, 76, 120, 110, 105, 35, 150, 135, 85, 65,
100, 120, 145, 138, 130
Determine the midrange.
Solution The midrange is the sum of the lowest value, 35 and the highest value,
150. Then these are divided by 2.
𝐿𝑉+𝐻𝑉 35+150
𝑀𝑅 = = = 92.5
2 2
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POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Office of the Vice President for Branches and Campuses
QUEZON CITY BRANCH

WEIGHTED MEAN
This is used to find the mean of values of the data set that are not equally
represented. The weighted average can be found by multiplying the value by its
corresponding weight and dividing the sum of the products by the sum of their weights.

Example 13 A recent survey of a new ice cream reported the following

percentages of people who liked the flavor. Find the weighted mean
of the percentages.
Area % favored Number surveyed
1 55 1 100
2 25 700
3 70 1 000

∑𝑤𝑥 (0.55)(1100)+(0.25)(700)+(0.70)(1 000)

Solution 𝑥̅ = =
∑𝑤 0.55+0.25+0.70

= 605+175+700 = 1 480 = 986.67 ≈ 987

1.5 1.5
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