Statistical Analysis – 1

Quantiles
In addition to the mean, the median, and the mode, there are other ways of describing a given set of
numerical data, known as quantiles. Quantiles are extension of the median concept in that they are
values which divide a set of data into equal parts. If the median divides the distribution into two equal
parts, the quantiles divide the data into either, e.g., four, ten or hundred equal parts.

Quartile

A quartile divides a set of observations into four equal parts. The upper quartile known as the third
quartile is the value of the variable below which 75% of the cases lie. The third quartile also
corresponds to the 75 percentile point because it surpasses 75% of the cases. Hence, Q = P
th
3 75

The lower quartile known as the first quartile (Q ) is the value of the variable below which 25% of the
1

cases lie. It also corresponds to the 25 percentile point. Hence, Q = P . Therefore, the median is
th
1 25

equal to the second quartile (Q ) 2

Computing Quartiles of a Frequency Distribution

Computing the values of the first and third quartiles is similar in computing the value of the median,
where n is multiplied to k (where k = 1, 2, 3) and divided it by four instead of two. The formula for
computing the quartile is, as follows:

( )
Q k = X lb + c 4
−cfb
fq k

Where:

X = lower boundary of the K quartile class

lb th

cfb = cumulative frequency before the k quartile class

th

fq = frequency of the k quartile class

k th

The formulas of the quartiles when k = 1, 2 and 3 are, as follows:

When k = 1

( )
Q 1 = X lb + c 4
−cfb
fq 1

When k = 2

2n

(
Q 2 = X lb + c 4
−cfb
fq2 )
When k = 3

3n
Q 3 = X lb + c 4
( −cfb
fq 3 )
 

Example: Find the Q , Q and Q of the I.Q test results of 145 Computer Engineering students in a
1 2 3

certain college.

Class Interval Frequency < cf

70-75 2 2

76-81 7 9

82-87 20 29

88-93 21 50

94-99 39 89

100-105 27 116

106-111 14 130

112-117 10 140

118-123 5 145

  n = 145  

Solutions:

A.  To find the Q , let us follow the steps below.

1

1.  Get the ¼ of the total number of the frequencies.

 n 145
4
= 4
= 36.25th value

2.  Find the first quartile class. The 36.25 s contained in 50 under column <cf. Therefore,
the first quartile class is 88-93.

3.  Cfb = 29

4.  c = 6

5.  fq = 21
1

6.  X = 87.5
lb

7.  Substitute the values in the formula

Q 1 = 87.5 + 6 ( 36.25−29
21 ) = 87.5 + 2.07
Q1 = 89.75 (Rounded to the nearest hundredths

B. To find Q3, we shall determine the following:

3n 3(145)
1. 4 = = 108.75th value
4

2. 3rd quartile class is 100 – 105

3. Xlb = 99.5

4. cfb = 89

5. fq3 = 27
3n
Q 3 = X lb + c 4
(−cfb
fq 3 )
= Q3 = 99.5 + 6
108.75−89
27 ( )
Q3 = 103.89

C. To calculate Q2, we shall find the following.

2n 2(145)
1. 4 = = 72.5th value
4

2. Quartile 2 class is 94-99

3. Xlb = 93.5

4. cfb = 50

5. fq2 = 39

2n

(
Q 2 = X lb + c 4
−cfb
fq2 )
= Q3 = 93.5 + 6
72.5−50
39 ( )
Q2 = 96.96 (Which also the value of median ~x )

Percentiles

One way of assessing performance is to determine the position of one with respect to the others. For example, if
Rosalina got a score of 72 in a 100-item test and is ranked 8th in a class of 145 students, then there are 145 – 8 =
137 students below her rank. If we divide this number by the total number of students, we get 137 ÷ 145 or
94.48% or approximately 94%. This means that 94% of the class ranked below or got scores below 72.
Therefore, the percentile rank of Rosalina in the class is 94. This also means that 94 out of every 100 students
got scores below her score. Conversely, this could also mean that approximately 6% of the students have a
higher scores than Rosalina. Since Rosalina’s score is 72, we can further say that the 94th percentile is 72.

Percentiles refer to those values that divide a distribution into one hundred equal parts. Percentile rank n tells
how much percent of the cases got below the rank position. Percentile point Pn is the score or value that
corresponds to the given percentile rank.

Thus, in the example, P94 = 72.

To get the percentile point, arrange first the data in increasing order or from the lowest to highest.

Example: A math instructor gave a 25-item quiz to 15 students. The scores obtained are as follows: 15, 17, 24,
9, 12, 11, 10, 7, 10, 14, 9, 10, 8, 23, 19
 a. What score corresponds to the 100 percentile?
b. What is the 5-th percentile point?
c. What is the 0th (zero) percentile point?

Solutions: First, arrange the scores in increasing order, as follows.

7, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 23, 24

Notice the following: the highest score is 24, the middle score is 11 and the lowest score is 7.

a. The student who scored 24 surpasses all the others. Recall that in the discussion on class intervals, the
boundaries are x – 0.5 and x + 0.5 respectively. The 100th percentile point is the upper boundary of the
highest score. Thus, the score that corresponds to the 100th percentile rank is 24.5, or P100 = 24.5

b. The score 11 surpasses half or 50% of the students. Therefore, P50 = 11/

c. The lowest score is 7. It means that there are no scores below 7. The 0th percentiles point is the lower
boundary of the lowest score. Thus, the score corresponding to the zero percentile rank is 6.5 or P0 =
6.50

Example: In a class of 48 students, Lhen got a percentile rank of 75.

a. What does the percentile rank of 75 imply?

b. How many students rank below Lhen?

Solutions:

a. The percentile rank of 75 implies that Lhen got a score higher than 75% of the class.
b. Since there are 48 students in that class, the number of students who got scores below than Lhen is 48
(75%) = 48(.75) = 36 students.

Computation of Percentiles for Grouped Data

The formula in calculating the percentile for grouped data is similar to that of the median and the quartiles.

kn
Pk =X +c
lb
( 100
−cfb
fp k )
Where:
Xlb = lower boundary of the kth percentile class
cfb = cumulative frequency before the kth percentile class

fpk = frequency of the kth percentile class

c = class size or interval size

Thus, when k = 70, the formula is:

70 n
P70 =X +c
lb
( 100
−cfb
fp 70 )
Example: Determine the values of the 75th, the 40th, and the 90th percentiles using the frequency distribution
below.

Class Interval Frequency < cf

70-75 2 2

76-81 7 9

82-87 20 29

88-93 21 50

94-99 39 89

100-105 27 116

106-111 14 130

112-117 10 140

118-123 5 145

  n = 145  

Solutions:

A. To compute the value of P75, we shall have:

 75 n
1. = 108.75
100

2. cfb = 889

3. 75th class = 100 – 105

4. Xlb = 99.5

5. Fp75 = 27

75 n

(
P75 = X lb + c 100
−cfb
fp 75 )
P75 = 99.5 + 6 ( 108.75−89
27 )
= 99.5 + 4.39
P75 = 103.89

B. To find the value of P40, we shall have:

40(145)
P40 = X lb + c
( 100
fp 40
−cfb
)
P40 = 93.5 + 6 ( 58−50
39 )

P40 = 94.73
C. To determine the value of P90, we have:

90(145)
P90 = X lb + c
( 100
fp 90
−cfb
) = P90 = 111.5 + 6 ( 130.5−130
10 )
 P90 = 111.80

Deciles

When frequency is divided into 10 equal parts, each part is called decile.

A decile point DK, is a value of the variables below which a certain percentage of the class falls, the percentage
being taken in units of 10.

The computing formula for decile for grouped data is patterned after the formulas for the median, the quartiles
and the percentile.

kn
Dk = X lb +c ( ) 10
−cfb
fd k

Where:

Xlb = lower boundary of the kth decile class

cfb = cumulative frequency before the kth decile class

fdk = frequency of the kth decile class

c = class size or interval size

Thus, when k = 7, the formula is:

7n
D7 = X lb +c ( 10
−cfb
fd 7 )
Example: Determine the 7th, the 4th, the 9th and the 3rd deciles using the frequency distribution below.

Class Interval Frequency < cf

70-75 2 2

76-81 7 9
 82-87 20 29

88-93 21 50

94-99 39 89

100-105 27 116

106-111 14 130

112-117 10 140

118-123 5 145

  n = 145  

A. To compute the value of D7, we have:

7(n) 7(145)
1. 10
= 10
= 101.5

2. cfb = 89

3. D7th class = 100 – 105

4. Xlb = 99.5

5. fd7 = 27

6. c = 6

7n
7. D 7 = X lb + c 10
(
−cfb
fd 7 )
= D7 = 99.5 + 6
101.5−89
27 ( )
D7 = 99.5 + 2.78

D7 = 102.98
 B. To determine the value of D4, we obtain:

4n
D4 = X lb + c 10
( −cfb
fd 4 ) ( 58−50
= D4 = 93.5 + 6 39 )
D4 = 94.73
C. To Calculate the value of D9, we have:

9n
D9 =X +c
lb
( 10
−cfb
fd 9 ) = D = 111.5 + 6 (
9
130.5−130
10 )
D9 = 111.80

D. To find the value of D3, we shall have:

3n
D3 =X +c
lb
( 10
−cfb
fd 3 ) = D = 88.5 + 6 (
3
43.5−29
21 )
D3 = 92.64