Chapter: Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of central tendency shows the tendency of some central value around which data
tends to converge. For further analysis of the tabular data, measures of central tendency
represents the entire mass of data.
Objectives:
To get one single value that describe the characteristics of the entire data.
To easily compare the data.
Types:
Different types of central tendency are:
1. Arithmetic Mean
2. Median
3. Mode
4. Geometric Mean
5. Harmonic Mean
Arithmetic Mean:
The arithmetic mean, often simply referred to as mean, is the total of the values of a set of
observations divided by their number of observations.
If represent the values of N items or observations, the arithmetic
mean denoted by ̅ is defined by
∑
̅
∑
It’s also written as ̅
In case of frequency distribution
∑ ∑
̅
∑
Where N is called total frequency.
1
Example: The monthly income of 10 employees working in a firm is as follows:
4487 4493 4502 4446 4475 4492 4572 4516 4468 4489
Find the average monthly income.
Solution: The total income
∑
̅
Hence the average monthly income is tk 4494
Example: Find the mean of the following data
Class 8 10 15 20
Frequency 5 8 8 4
Solution:
Class ( ) Frequency( )
8 5 40
10 8 80
15 8 120
20 4 80
∑ 25 ∑ 320
∑ ∑
̅
∑
2
Calculating Mean Using Short-cut Method: The short-cut method is suitable for
grouped data. The formula is
∑
̅
Where
= The size of class interval.
= The assumed mean. (It is the middle no of the mid values).
= The step deviation from .
= Mid values of each class.
= The total frequency.
Example: Calculate mean for the following grouped data using short-cut method.
Class 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50
frequency 7 8 20 10 5
Solution: Here and
Class Mid value Frequency
0-10 5 7 -2 -14
10-20 15 8 -1 -8
20-30 25 A 20 0 0
30-40 35 10 +1 +10
40-50 45 5 +2 +10
= 50 ∑ = -2
∑
We know mean ̅
3
Example: Calculate mean for the following data representing the marks of statistics for 80
students in a class.
Marks 0-20 20-40 40-60 60-80 80-100 100-120 120-140
No of Student 4 26 22 10 9 6 3
Solution: Here and
Marks Mid value No of Student
0-20 10 4 -3 -12
20-40 30 26 -2 -52
40-60 50 22 -1 -22
60-80 70 10 0 0
80-100 90 9 +1 +9
100-120 110 6 +2 +12
120-140 130 3 +3 +9
= 80 ∑ = -56
∑
We know, Mean ̅
4
Example: Calculate the arithmetic mean of the frequency distribution given below
Height 130-134 135-139 140-144 145-149 150-154 155-159 160-164
No of 5 15 28 24 17 10 1
Students
Solution: Here and
Height Mid value No of Students
129.5–134.5 132 5 –3 –15
134.5–139.5 137 15 –2 –30
139.5–144.5 142 28 –1 –28
144.5–149.5 147 24 0 0
149.5–154.5 152 17 +1 +17
154.5–159.5 157 10 +2 +20
159.5–164.5 162 1 +3 +3
= 100 ∑ = –33
∑
Mean ̅
5
For Practice
1. Calculate the mean of the following data
Height(cm) 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73
No of Plants 1 4 5 7 11 10 6 4 2
ANS: 69.18
2. Find the mean of the following data
Marks No of Students
0-10 3
10-20 5
20-30 7
30-40 10
40-50 12
50-60 15
60-70 12
70-80 6
80-90 2
90-100 8
ANS: 51.75
6
Median:
The median is defined as the measure of middle value when set of data are arranged in
ascending or descending order.
Calculation of Median (Ungrouped Data)
First arrange them in ascending or descending order and count number of observation
or items N.
If number of observation N is odd, then th observation is median.
If number of observation N is even, then median is the average of th and th
observation.
Example: The weights of 11 mothers in kg were recorded as follows:
47 44 42 41 58 52 55 39 40 43 61
Find the median.
Solution:
Given data in ascending order
39 40 41 42 43 44 47 52 55 58 61
Number of observation N = 11, which is odd number.
Median is th observation = th observation.
th observation is 44. Therefore median is 44.
Example: Find the median of the following
20 18 22 27 25 12 15
ANS: 20
7
Example: The weights of 10 mothers in kg were recorded as follows:
47 44 42 41 58 55 39 40 43 61
Find the median.
Solution:
Given data in ascending order
39 40 41 42 43 44 47 55 58 61
Number of observation N = 10, which is even number.
Median is average of th and th observation.
Therefore median =
Calculation of Median (Grouped Data)
For Grouped data, Median =
Where
= The size of class interval.
= Lower limit of median class. (The class where middle ( th) observation lies.)
= Preceding cumulative frequency of median class. (Cumulative frequency above
median class)
= Frequency of the median class.
8
Example: Calculate the median for the distribution of the weights of 150 students from the
given below:
Weight 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90
Frequency 18 37 45 27 15 8
Solution:
Weight Frequency Cumulative frequency
30-40 18 18
40-50 37 55 p.c.f
55 – 100
L 50-60 45 f 100 observation
60-70 27 127
70-80 15 142
80-90 8 150
N = 150
Median is th observation. th observation lies in class 50 – 60.
Median class is 50 – 60.
Median =
9
Example: Following distribution gives the pattern of overtime done by 100 employee.
Calculate the median
Overtime 10-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-35 35-40
No of 11 20 35 20 8 6
employee
Solution:
Overtime No of employee Cumulative frequency
10-15 11 11
15-20 20 31
20-25 35 66
25-30 20 86
30-35 8 94
35-40 6 100
N = 100
Median is th observation. th observation lies in class 20 – 25.
Median class is 20 – 25.
Median =
Hence of the workers doing overtime up to 22.714 hrs and the remaining of the
workers doing overtime more than 22.714 hrs.
10
Example: Calculate the median from the following distribution gives the profit of 125
companies:
Profit 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80
(crore)
No of 4 12 24 36 20 16 8 3
Companies
Comment on your result.
Solution:
Profit (crore) No of Companies Cumulative frequency
0-10 4 4
10-20 12 16
20-30 24 40
30-40 36 76
40-50 20 96
50-60 16 112
60-70 8 120
70-80 3 125
N = 125
Median is th observation. th observation lies in class 30 – 40.
Median class is 30 – 40.
Median =
Hence of the companies have profits up to 36.5 crores and the remaining of the
companies have profits more than 36.5 crores.
11
Example: Calculate the median of the frequency distribution given below
Height 130-134 135-139 140-144 145-149 150-154 155-159 160-164
No of 5 15 28 24 17 10 1
Students
Solution:
Height No of Students Cumulative
frequency
129.5–134.5 5 5
134.5–139.5 15 20
139.5–144.5 28 48
144.5–149.5 24 72
149.5–154.5 17 89
154.5–159.5 10 99
159.5–164.5 1 100
= 100
Median is th observation. th observation lies in class 144.5–149.5.
Median class is 144.5–149.5.
Median =
12
Example: Calculate the median from the following distribution
No of days 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
absent
No of 29 195 241 117 52 10 6 3 2
Students
Solution:
Class No of Students Cumulative frequency
0-5 29 29
5-10 195 224
10-15 241 465
15-20 117 582
20-25 52 634
25-30 10 644
30-35 6 650
35-40 3 653
40-45 2 655
N = 655
Median is th observation. th observation lies in class 10 - 15.
Median class is 10 - 15.
Median =
13
For Practice
1. Calculate the median of the following
Marks 0-20 20-40 40-60 60-80 80-100 100-120 120-140
No of Students 4 26 22 10 9 6 3
ANS: 49.09
2. Find the median of the following data
Marks No of Students
0-10 7
10-20 32
20-30 56
30-40 106
40-50 180
50-60 164
60-70 86
70-80 44
ANS: 47.58
14
Quartiles:
Quartiles are those values which divide the total frequency into four parts. We need three
values to divide the whole frequency into four parts. That is why there are three quartile
denote first quartile, second quartile, third quartile. is called the median of the
frequency.
𝐐𝟏 𝐐𝟐 𝐐𝟑
The quartiles are important in grading, rating, scoring , ranking etc.
Calculation of Quartiles (Grouped Data)
For Grouped data, quartiles i = 1, 2, 3
Where
= The size of class interval.
= Lower limit of quartile class.
= Preceding cumulative frequency of quartile class.
= Frequency of the quartile class.
Quartile class identified by th observation.
15
Example: The profits earned by 100 companies are given below:
Profits 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90 90-100
(lakhs)
No of 4 8 18 30 15 10 8 7
Companies
Calculate , Median or , .
Solution:
Profits (lakhs) No of Companies Cumulative frequency
20-30 4 4
30-40 8 12
40-50 18 30
50-60 30 60
60-70 15 75
70-80 10 85
80-90 8 93
90-100 7 100
N = 100
The first quartile th observation. th observation lies in 40 - 50.
Quartile class is 40 - 50.
We know
of the companies earn an annual profit of 47.22 lakhs or less.
16
Median or th observation. th observation lies in 50 - 60.
Quartile class is 50 - 60.
We know
of the companies earn an annual profit of 56.67 lakhs or less.
The third quartile th observation. th observation lies in 60 - 70.
Quartile class is 60 - 70.
We know
of the companies earn an annual profit of 70 lakhs or less.
Example: Following distribution gives the pattern of overtime done by 100 employee.
Calculate first quartile
Overtime 10-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-35 35-40
No of 11 20 35 20 8 6
employee
ANS: 18.5
17
Deciles:
Deciles are those values which divide the total frequency into ten parts. We need nine values
to divide the whole frequency into ten parts. Deciles are denoted by , , etc.
Calculation of Deciles (Grouped Data)
For Grouped data, deciles i = 1 to 9
Deciles class identified by th observation.
Percentiles:
Percentiles are those values which divide the total frequency into hundred parts. We need
ninety nine values to divide the whole frequency into hundred parts. Percentiles are denoted
by , , etc.
Calculation of Percentiles (Grouped Data)
For Grouped data, percentiles i = 1 to 99
Percentile class identified by th observation.
18
Mode:
Mode is defined as the value which occurs the maximum number of times i.e. having the
maximum frequency.
Calculation of Mode (Ungrouped Data)
Example: Six different observations
5 8 10 8 5 8
Find the mode.
Solution:
Since 8 has occurred maximum number of times, i.e. 3 times. So modal value is 8 .
Example: Find the mode of the following
0, 1, 6, 7, 2, 3, 7, 6, 6, 2, 6, 0, 5, 6, 0
ANS: 6
Calculation of Mode (Grouped Data)
For Grouped data, Mode =
Where
= The size of class interval.
= Lower limit of modal class. (The class having maximum frequency.)
= Difference between the frequency of the modal class and the pre-modal class.
= Difference between the frequency of the modal class and the post-modal class.
19
Example: Calculate the mode for the distribution of the weights of 150 students from the
given below:
Weight 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90
Frequency 18 37 45 27 15 8
Solution:
Weight Frequency
30-40 18
40-50 37
L 50-60 45
60-70 27
70-80 15
80-90 8
Since highest frequency is 45 which lies in the class 50 – 60.
Modal class is 50 – 60.
Mode =
20
Example: Find the mode of the following data
Marks 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80
No of 7 32 56 106 180 164 86 44
Students
Solution:
Marks No of Students
0-10 7
10-20 32
20-30 56
30-40 106
40-50 180
50-60 164
60-70 86
70-80 44
Since highest frequency is 180 which lies in the class 40 – 50.
Modal class is 40 – 50.
L = 40, ,
Mode =
21
For Practice
1. Find mode of the following data relates to the sales of 100 companies:
Sales 58-60 60-62 62-64 64-66 66-68 68-70 70-72
No of 12 18 25 30 10 3 2
Companies
ANS: 64.4
Geometric Mean (G.M.)
∑
For Ungrouped data G.M.= ( )
∑
For Grouped data G.M.= ( )
A.L stands for Anti Log.
Harmonic Mean (H.M.)
For Ungrouped data H.M.=
∑( )
For Grouped data H.M.=
∑( )
Empirical Relation between Mean, Median, Mode
Mode = 3 Median – 2 Mean
22
Example: Calculate the median and mode of the frequency distribution given below.
Hence calculate the mean using empirical relation between them.
Weight 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90
Frequency 18 37 45 27 15 8
Solution:
Weight Frequency Cumulative frequency
30-40 18 18
40-50 37 55
50-60 45 100
60-70 27 127
70-80 15 142
80-90 8 150
N = 150
Median:
Median is th observation. th observation lies in class 50 – 60. Median class
is 50 – 60.
Median =
Mode:
Since highest frequency is 45 which lies in the class 50 – 60. Modal class is 50 – 60.
Mode =
Mode = 3 Median – 2 Mean
=> 2 Mean = 3 Median – Mode
=> Mean = (3 Median – Mode)/2
23
Example: Calculate the arithmetic mean and median of the frequency distribution given
below. Hence calculate the mode using empirical relation between them.
Marks 0-20 20-40 40-60 60-80 80-100 100-120 120-140
No of Student 4 26 22 10 9 6 3
Solution: Here and
Marks Mid value No of Student Cumulative
frequency
0-20 10 4 -3 -12 4
20-40 30 26 -2 -52 30
40-60 50 22 -1 -22 52
60-80 70 10 0 0 62
80-100 90 9 +1 +9 71
100-120 110 6 +2 +12 77
120-140 130 3 +3 +9 80
= 80 ∑ = -56
Mean:
∑
Mean ̅
Median:
Median is th observation. th observation lies in class 40–60. Median class is
40–60.
Median =
( ) ( )
24
Example: Calculate the arithmetic mean and median of the frequency distribution given
below. Hence calculate the mode using empirical relation between them.
Height 130-134 135-139 140-144 145-149 150-154 155-159 160-164
No of 5 15 28 24 17 10 1
Students
Solution: Here and
Height Mid value No of Students Cumulative
frequency
129.5–134.5 132 5 –3 –15 5
134.5–139.5 137 15 –2 –30 20
139.5–144.5 142 28 –1 –28 48
144.5–149.5 147 24 0 0 72
149.5–154.5 152 17 +1 +17 89
154.5–159.5 157 10 +2 +20 99
159.5–164.5 162 1 +3 +3 100
= 100 ∑ = –33
Mean:
∑
Mean ̅
Median:
Median is th observation. th observation lies in class 144.5–149.5. Median
class is 144.5–149.5.
Median =
25
( ) ( )
For Practice
1. Calculate the arithmetic mean and median of the frequency distribution given below.
Hence calculate the mode using empirical relation between them.:
Marks 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99
No of 2 12 15 20 18 10 9 4
Students
ANS: Mean = 58.5, Median = 57.5, Mode = 55.5
2. The median and mode of the following wage distribution are tk 33.5 and tk 34
respectively. However there frequencies are missing. Determine their values:
Wage 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 Total
Frequencies 4 16 ? ? ? 6 4 230
ANS: 60, 100, 40
26
