BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

MMW 101
MATHEMATICS IN THE MODERN WORLD

Module 14
Measures of Central Tendency
“Statistics: Our Life Saver
and Influencer”
 Measures of Central Tendency

Objectives of the module:

At the end of the module, you should be able to:
1. compute for the mean, the median, and the mode of ungrouped data
2. compute for the mean, the median, and the mode of grouped data
3. interpret the computed measures of central tendency

Measures of central tendency or location can be defined as a typical value of a

set of data or observations where they tend to cluster. The three major types of
measures of central tendency are the mean, the median, and the mode.

The most commonly used measure of central tendency is the mean. The
arithmetic mean, or simply the mean is the sum of all the given values or items in
a distribution divided by the number of observations. The mean is commonly called
the average. It is denoted by 𝐗̅ (reads "x bar"). There are some cases when values
are given more importance than others. The mean derived in this case is known as
the weighted arithmetic mean or weighted mean.

The median is the middle value in the distribution after arranging the data
either in ascending or descending order. Half of the observations belong to the higher
50% of the group, while the other half belongs to the lower 50% of the group. It is
denoted by "md" (reads "median").

The mode is the simplest measure of central tendency. It can be easily

identified by inspection by getting the score or item which occurs most frequently.
It is denoted by "mo" (reads "mode"). A set of data with only one mode is called
unimodal. A set of data with two modes is bimodal, with three is trimodal, and with
many modes, multimodal. In some instances, the mode may not even exist at all.

Measures of Central Tendency for Ungrouped Data

1. Computation of the Mean for Ungrouped Data

̅ = 𝚺𝐗
𝐗 Formula 7
𝒏

where: X = represents the value of an observation

n = represents the total number of observations

If some values are repeated, the mean is computed using the formula:

̅ = ΣfX where: fX = the product of each score (X) and its

𝐗
frequency
n n = represents the total number of observations

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 Examples:
1.) The following are the ages of six senior citizens: 67, 72, 63, 65, 70, 68

̅ = ΣX 67 + 72 + 63 + 65 + 70 + 68 405
X = = = 67.5 average age
n 6 6

Interpretation: The average age of the six senior citizens is 67.5.

2.) The following is a set of scores: 60, 55, 42, 28, 39

̅ = ΣX 60 + 55 + 42 + 28 + 39 224 44.8 average

X = = =
n 5 5 score

Interpretation: The average score of the five students in the test is 44.8.

3.) The following is the number of computer units sold in the last 11 days:

12, 20, 31, 8, 15, 23, 15, 12, 31, 12, 12

ΣfX 4(12) + 20 + 2(31) + 8 + 2(15) + 23 191
̅ =
X = = = 17.36 = 17 computer
N 11 11
units

Interpretation: The average number of computer units sold for the last 11 days is 17.

Weighted Mean

The formula is:

̅ = ΣwX
X where: X = represents each of the item values
Σw
w = represents the weight of each item value

4.)Compute the weighted mean grade.

Course Code No. of Units Final Grade

Math 113 3 1.50
Math 115 5 1.25
English 113 3 1.75
Fil 113 3 2.00
Total units 14

̅ ΣwX 3(1.5) + 5(1.25) + 3(1.75) + 3.(2.0) 22

X = = = = 1.57
Σw 3+5+3+3 14

Interpretation: The average grade of the student for the four subjects is 1.57.
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2. Computation of the Median for Ungrouped Data

To find the median, first, arrange the data in ascending order or vice versa.
The observation found in the middle is the median.

However, you have to consider the following cases:

1.) If there is an odd number of 2.) If there is an even number of

observations, the middle value is observations, the median is the average
the median. of the two middle values.

Example: Example:
Set of scores:48, 29, 18, 37, 31, 12, 23 Ages of teachers:58, 63, 42, 33, 25, 49

12, 18, 23, 29, 31, 37, 48 25, 33, 42, 49,53, 63

md = 29 42 + 49
md = = 45.5
2

Interpretation: (For example number 2) It can be said that fifty percent of the
teachers have ages lower than 45.5 years, while the other fifty percent of them
have ages higher than 45.5 years.

3. Computation of the Mode for Ungrouped Data

Examples:
1. 15, 26, 15, 13, 15, 11, 15 (15 appeared four times)
mo = 15, unimodal distribution

2. 8, 17, 11, 17, 35, 20, 20, 17, 20 (17 and 20 appeared thrice)
mo = 17 and 20, bimodal distribution

3. 48, 48, 21, 15, 15, 12, 19, 19 (48, 15 and 19 appeared twice)
mo = 48, 15 and 19, trimodal distribution

4. 10, 19, 23, 46, 21, 32, 1(There is no value that occurs more than once.)
mo = does not exist

The following illustration shows how you can find the mean, median, and the mode
of this given set of scores:

42, 45, 20, 42, 28, 33, 38, 47, 38, 40 and 42

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 Solution:
̅= ΣfX =3(42)+45 +20+28+33+2(38)+47+40 =
1) X
415
= 37.727 = 37.73
𝑛 11 11

2) ascending order: 20, 28, 33, 38, 38, 40, 42, 42, 42, 45, 47
md = 40

3) mo = 42 (42 appeared thrice)

Measures of Central Tendency for Grouped Data

In computing the mean, the median, and the mode for grouped data, we will use the
example given in the discussion of the frequency distribution table. (Refer to table 4.)
Here is table 5.Take note of the columns to be considered.

Table 5
Frequency Distribution of 50 Test Scores in Statistics

Class Class Class

Cumulative Frequency
Limits Boundaries f Marks fXi
LB - UB (Xi) <cf
LL - UL
24 - 30 23.5 - 30.5 3 27 (3•27) 81 3
31 – 37 30.5 - 37.5 3 34 (3•34) 102 6
38 – 44 37.5 - 44.5 6 41 (6•41) 246 12
45 – 51 44.5 - 51.5 7 48 336 19( <cfb )
52 – 58 lmd51.5 - 58.5 fmd 8 55 440 27(𝑛2 = 25 is found here)
59 – 65 58.5 - 65.5 9 62 558 36
66 – 72 65.5 - 72.5 3 69 207 39
73 – 79 72.5 - 79.5 6 76 456 45
80 – 86 79.5 - 86.5 3 83 249 48
87 - 93 86.5 - 93.5 2 90 180 50
c=7 n=50 ΣfXi = 2855

1. The Mean
The formula for finding the mean of grouped data is:

̅ = 𝚺𝐟𝐗𝐢
𝑿 𝒏 Formula 8

where:
f = represents the frequency of each class
Xi = represents the class mark (class midpoint)
n = represents the total number of observations
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Steps in calculating the mean:
Step 1. Find the class mark (class midpoint) of each class. Place them in a column.
(This step is already done in the previous lesson.)

Step 2. Multiply the frequency (f) by the class mark (Xi) of each class. Place them in
another column. (5th column in Table 4)

Step 3. Find the sum of the products of the frequency and its midpoint (ΣfXi ).

Step 4. Divide the sum obtained in Step 3 by the total number of frequencies (n).

∑ 𝑓𝑋𝑖 2855
𝑋̅ = = = 𝟓𝟕. 𝟏
𝑛 50
Interpretation: The average score of the 50 students who took the test in Statistics
is 57.1.

This mean is contained in the class interval 52 - 58.

2. The Median

The formula for computing the median of grouped data is:

𝑛
− <𝑐𝑓𝑏
md = 𝑙𝑚𝑑 + ( 2 𝑓𝑚 )𝑐 Formula 9
𝑑

where:
lmd = lower boundary of the median class
𝑛
= half of the total frequency
2
<cfb = cumulative frequency (<cf) preceding/before the median class
fmd = frequency of the median class
c = class size

Steps in calculating the median:

Step 1. Compute the cumulative frequency (< 𝑐𝑓). (This step is already done in the
previous lesson.)

𝑛 𝒏 𝟓𝟎
Step 2. Solve for . In our example, = = 𝟐𝟓.
2 𝟐 𝟐

Step 3. Locate the 25th value/item obtained in Step 2 under the < 𝑐𝑓column. (Refer
to table 5)

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 𝒏
Note: The median class is the class containing the𝟐 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆.
𝒏
Do not take the < 𝑐𝑓 value that is less than 𝟐 . Get the <cf value
𝒏
containing .
𝟐

Looking at the < 𝑐𝑓 column in the table, the value containing the 25th item is
27. The class interval across 27 is 52 - 58. Therefore, 52 – 58 is the median class.

Step 4. Determine the lower boundary from the obtained median class.
Since 52 - 58 is the median class, 𝒍𝒎𝒅 = 51.5.

Step 5. Find the <cf of the class preceding/before the median class.
The <cf of the median class is 27, so the value of < 𝑐𝒇𝒃 is 19.

Step 6. Determine the frequency of the median class and the class size.
These are: 𝒇𝒎𝒅 = 8 and c = 7.

Step 7. Substitute these values in the formula and compute the median.

Summary of values: 𝒏
− < 𝑐𝒇𝒃
𝒎𝒅 = 𝒍𝒎𝒅 + (𝟐 )𝒄
median class: 52-58 𝒇𝒎𝒅

𝑛 𝟐𝟓 − 𝟏𝟗
= 25 𝒎𝒅= 𝟓𝟏. 𝟓 + ( )𝟕
2 𝟖
lmd = 51.5
<cfb = 19 𝟔
𝒎𝒅= 𝟓𝟏. 𝟓 + (𝟖)𝟕
fmd = 8
c =7
𝒎𝒅 = 𝟓𝟔. 𝟕𝟓

Interpretation: Of the fifty students who took the test in Statistics, half of
them got scores lower than 56.75, while the other half scored higher than
56.75.

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3. The Mode

The formula for solving the mode of grouped data is:

𝑓𝑚𝑜 − 𝑓1 Formula 10
𝑚𝑜 = 𝑙𝑚𝑜 + ( )𝑐
2𝑓𝑚𝑜 − 𝑓1 − 𝑓2

where:
lmo = lower boundary of the modal class
fmo = frequency of the modal class
f1 = frequency before the median class
f2 = frequency after the median class
c = class size

Table 5
Frequency Distribution of 50 Test Scores in Statistics

Class Class Class Cumulative

Frequency
Intervals Boundaries Marks fXi Frequency
f
LL - UL LB - UB (Xi) <cf
24 - 30 23.5 - 30.5 3 27 81 3
31 – 37 30.5 - 37.5 3 34 102 6
38 – 44 37.5 - 44.5 6 41 246 12
45 – 51 44.5 - 51.5 7 48 336 19
52 – 58 51.5 - 58.5 8 f1 55 440 27
59 – 65 lmo58.5 - 65.5 9fmo 62 558 36
66 – 72 65.5 - 72.5 3 f2 69 207 39
73 – 79 72.5 - 79.5 6 76 456 45
80 – 86 79.5 - 86.5 3 83 249 48
87 - 93 86.5 - 93.5 2 90 180 50
c=7 n = 50 ΣfXi=2855

Steps in calculating the mode:

Step 1. Find the modal class.

Note: The modal class is the class with the highest frequency.

In Table 5, the highest frequency is 9. Therefore, 59 – 65 is the

modal class.

Step 2. Determine the lower boundary from the obtained modal class.
Since 59 - 65 is the modal class, 𝒍𝒎𝒐 = 58.5.

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Step 3. Determine the 𝑓𝑚𝑜 , 𝑓1 , 𝑓2 , and c.
These are: 𝒇𝒎𝒐 = 9; 𝒇𝟏 = 8; 𝒇𝟐 = 3 and c =7.

Step 4. Substitute these values in the formula and solve for the mode.

Summary of values:

modal class: 59 -65 𝑓𝑚𝑜 − 𝑓1

𝑚𝑜 = 𝑙𝑚𝑜 + ( )𝑐
𝑙𝑚𝑜 = 58.5 2𝑓𝑚𝑜 − 𝑓1 − 𝑓2

𝑓𝑚𝑜 = 9 9−8
𝑚𝑜 = 58.5 + (2(9)−8−3)
𝑓1 = 8 1
𝑚𝑜 = 58.5 + (7) 7
𝑓2 = 3
c =7 𝒎𝒐 = 𝟓𝟗. 𝟓

Interpretation: The most frequently occurring score in the distribution is 59.5.

Note: The median class may also be the modal class. After computing
the median and the mode, check if the computed values are within the median
class and the modal class.