GCSE Maths – Statistics

Measures of Central Tendency

Worksheet

NOTES SOLUTIONS

This worksheet will show you how to work out questions relating to measures
of central tendency. Each section contains a worked example, a question
with hints and then questions for you to work through on your own.

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 Section A

Worked Example
You are given the following data set showing the weight in kilograms of 7 guinea
pigs:
{𝟑𝟑, 𝟐𝟐, 𝟑𝟑, 𝟒𝟒, 𝟐𝟐, 𝟑𝟑, 𝟓𝟓}
What is the mode of the data set?

Step 1: Order the data set from lowest value to highest value. This will allow you to easily count
how many values are the same.

{3, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 5} = {2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5}

Step 2: The mode is the value which occurs most often. Count how many of each value there are in
the data set.

In the data set {2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5} There are three 3s, two 2s, one 4 and one 5. We see 3
occurs the most often so 3 is the mode.

Answer: 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 = 3

Guided Example

A class of 8 people take an exam. Their scores are given in the set

{𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑, 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐, 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒, 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑, 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑, 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑, 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐}

What is the mode of their scores?

Step 1: Order the data set from lowest value to highest value.

Step 2: The mode is the value which occurs most often. Count how many of each value there are in
the data set.

Answer:

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 Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.

1. Find the mode for the following set of numbers:

78 34 12 42 11 78 30 71 42 42

2. Below is a list of how much a group of friends earn per hour (£):
£7.00
£8.50
£6.55
£7.00
£5.65
£6.55
£9.75
£6.55
What is the mode amount of money that is earned per hour?

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 Section B

Worked Example

The number of pets owned by a group of children is recorded in a frequency table

below:
Number of pets owned Frequency
0 2
1 5
2 1
3 2

Find the median number of pets owned.

Step 1: Find the total number of children by adding up all the numbers in the frequency column.
This will give us the total number of values in the data set.

2 + 5 + 1 + 2 = 10

There are 10 values in the data set (10 children).

Step 2: Write a list of the 10 values in the data set in order from lowest to highest. Use the table to
work out how many of the values 0, 1, 2 and 3 you need to list.

The table shows that two children own 0 pets, so we start the list with 0, 0. Then five
children own 1 pet, so we add five copies of 1 to the data set. Continuing, only one child
has 2 pets, so we add a single 2 to the set and finally two children own 3 pets, so we add
two copies of 3 to the data set.

Data set in order from lowest to highest value:

{0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3}

Step 3: Using the ordered data set, calculate the median.

The median is the middle value. Since there are an even number of values in the data set
(10 children), the median value is the average of the 5th and 6th values.

5𝑡𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣: 1
6𝑡𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣: 1

1+1
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 = =1
2

Answer: 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 = 1

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 Guided Example

Below is a list of recorded reaction times in seconds. Find the median of the
reaction times.

{𝟑𝟑, 𝟒𝟒, 𝟐𝟐, 𝟏𝟏, 𝟑𝟑, 𝟓𝟓, 𝟕𝟕, 𝟐𝟐, 𝟒𝟒, 𝟔𝟔, 𝟗𝟗, 𝟑𝟑}

Step 1: Order the set of values from lowest to highest.

Step 2: Count how many data values there are and use this work out where the median lies in the
data set.

Step 3: Find the median by counting up from the lowest value on the list.

Answer:

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 Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.

3. Find the median and mode for the following sets of numbers:

a) {30, 21, 59, 23, 12, 12, 21, 39, 14, 21, 21}

b) {1.5, 2.4, 3.0, 2.4, 4.5, 1.6, 1.6, 2.4, 1.5}

4. Eleanor has eight guinea pigs in her garden.

The weights (in kilograms) are listed in the set below.
{1.0, 2.5, 1.5, 1.6, 3.0, 2.5, 1.3, 2.2}
Find the median and mode weight of the rabbits.

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5. Taylor aims to bake 25 cakes each day. The number of cakes baked by their bakery
each day is recorded in the following frequency table.

Number of cakes baked Frequency

22 1
23 3
24 1
25 2
26 3
27 4
28 2

Calculate the median and mode for the number of cakes baked per day.

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 Section C

Worked Example

The scores of 10 students were recorded for an exam. The scores are recorded in
the data set below.

{𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐, 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐, 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐}

Calculate the mean score.

Step 1: Add up of the numbers in the data set to find the sum of the values.

12 + 24 + 28 + 23 + 11 + 23 + 29 + 15 + 15 + 20 = 200

Step 2: Divide the total by how many values there are.

We are already told that there are 10 students, so we simply divide 200 by 10:

200 ÷ 10 = 20

Answer: 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 = 20

Guided Example

Below is a list of heights recorded in centimetres for a survey:

{𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏}

Calculate the mean height of the data.

Step 1: Add up of the numbers in the data set to find the sum of the values.

Step 2: Divide the total by how many values there are.

Answer:

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 Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.

6. John is investigating how long it takes people to complete a Rubik’s cube.

Their times (in minutes) is recorded in the data set below:

{5, 6, 19, 9, 14, 23, 21, 8}
Calculate the mean time taken, giving your answer to one decimal place.

7. Two schools are comparing the English exam scores of 5 of their best students. They
gave their scores in the table below.

School A’s exam scores School B’s exam scores

30 49
34 38
43 47
36 45
46 26

Which school has a higher mean exam score? Show your working.

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