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IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

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 Contents

PAGE
UNIT-I
Lesson 1: Introduction to Statistics 3–14

Lesson 2: Frequency Distribution 15–46

Lesson 3: Histogram, Frequency Polygons, Frequency Curves and Ogives 47–76

UNIT-II
Lesson 4: Measures of Central Tendency 79–112

Lesson 5: Measures of Dispersion 113–133

Lesson 6: Moments134–163

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 UNIT - I

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 L E S S O N

1
Introduction to Statistics

STRUCTURE
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Types of Data
1.3 Collection of Data
1.4 Collection of Primary Data
1.5 Sources of Secondary Data
1.6 Quantitative Data and Qualitative Data
1.7 Levels of Measurements
1.8 Presentation of Data
1.9 Exercise

1.1 Introduction
The present-day society is essentially information-oriented. In various fields, we need
information. The set of information in the form of numerical figures is known as data.
The numerical figures maybe for example about: imports and exports of different coun-
tries, per-capita national income, minimum and maximum temperature, food production,
increase in population, per-capita expenditure, income tax, sales tax and property tax, etc.
Thus, Data may be defined as the figures which are numerical or otherwise collected with
a definite purpose and from which meaningful information can be obtained. The branch
of study which deals with data is known as Statistics.
Statistics is a branch of science which deals with the collecting, organising, summaris-
ing, presenting and analysing data and drawing valid conclusions and thereafter making
reasonable decisions on the basis of such analysis.
The word ‘statistics’ seems to have been derived from the Latin word ‘status’ or the Italian
word ‘statista’ or the German word ‘statistic’ each of which means a “political state”. In
ancient times, the government used to collect the information regarding the “population” and

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes “property” of the country. It was confined only to the affairs of the state but
now it embraces almost every sphere of human activity. It is now finding
wide application in almost all sciences – social as well as physical – such
as biology, psychology, education, economics, business management, etc.
It has become indispensable in all phases of human endeavor.

1.2 Types of Data

There are two types of statistical data: (i) Primary data and (ii) Second-
ary data.
Primary data: When an investigator collects the data himself with a
definite plan in mind, it is called primary data. Primary data is reliable
and relevant because they are original in nature and collected by some
institution or some individuals.
For example: The investigator goes from house to house to collect the
information about number of males and females in a family.
Secondary data: If it is not possible to collect data due to lack of time
and resources, the data collected by other investigators or official data or
data published in newspapers can be used. The data which is collected by
one investigator and used by another for his study is called secondary
data. Since these data are collected for a certain purpose, and if used
for different purpose, the same data may not be relevant for the user.
Therefore, such data must be used with great care.
Primary data is the data which is collected for the first time by the inves-
tigator and therefore original in character while secondary data is the data
which has already been collected by other persons and has passed through
the statistical process and procedure machine at least once. Thus, we can
say data which is secondary in the hands of one may be primary for other.

1.3 Collection of Data

Methods of the collection of primary data and secondary data would not
be exactly identical because in one case the data have to be originally
collected while in the other the work is of the nature of compilation.
There are various methods of the collection of primary and secondary
data and the ‘choice of the method depends on a number of factors.

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 Introduction to Statistics

(i) Availability of Finance: This is one of the factors which influences Notes
the selection of the method of collection of data. When financial
resources at the disposal of the investigator are scanty, he shall have
to leave aside expensive methods, even though they are better than
others which are comparatively cheap.
(ii) Availability of Time: Some methods, involve long duration of enquiry
while with others the enquiry can be conducted in a comparatively
shorter duration. The time at the disposal of the investigator thus
affects the selection of the technique by which data is to be collected.

1.4 Collection of Primary Data

Four types of the collection of primary data:
(i) Direct investigation
(ii) Indirect oral investigation
(iii) Schedules and questionnaires
(iv) Local reports
(i) Direct Investigation: The investigator collects the information directly
from the concerned sources. He has to be on the spot for conducting the
enquiry and has to meet people from whom data have to be collected.
It is necessary that in such cases the investigator has a keen sense of
observation and he is very polite and courteous. He should further
acquaint himself with local conditions, customs and traditions so that
he is in a position to identify himself fully the persons from whom
the information is sought. In some cases, it may not be possible or
worthwhile to contact directly the persons concerned and in such cases
the investigator has to cross-examine other persons who are closely
in touch with the sources of data. The information elicited in such
a manner should be carefully used and the investigator should make
sure that the persons from whom data are being collected actually
know the facts fully and can deliver him the goods. The investigator
has to be very tactful and cautious in such cases. He should put easy
and simple questions which are capable of being answered precisely
and in a language which is not vague.

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes The method of direct personal investigation is suitable only for

intensive investigations. It involves enormous cost and usually requires
a long time. It is naturally not suitable for extensive enquiries where
the scope of investigation is wide. Further, in this method the bias
or prejudice of the investigator can do a lot of damage as he is sole
in charge of the collection of data. This method, however, gives
very satisfactory results if the scope of the enquiry is narrow and
if the investigator is fully dependable and is completely unbiased.
(ii) Indirect Oral Investigation: When the above-mentioned method cannot
be used either on account of the reluctance of persons to part with
information when approached directly, or on account of the extensive
scope of the enquiry or on account of some other reason an indirect oral
examination can be conducted. In this method data are not collected
directly from the persons concerned but through indirect sources.
Persons who are supposed to have knowledge about the problem
under investigation are interrogated and the desired information is
collected. Usually in such enquiries a small list of questions relating
to the investigation is prepared and these questions are put to different
persons (known as witnesses) and their answers are recorded. Most
of the commissions and committees appointed by the Government
to collect statistical data or to carry on such investigations in which
factual data have to be compiled, make use of this method. In this
method the accuracy of data collected would largely depend on the
type of persons whose evidences are being recorded. It is, therefore,
necessary to be very cautious in the selection of these persons.
(iii) Schedules and Questionnaires: An important method for the collection
of data followed usually by private individuals, research workers,
non-official institutions and sometimes the Government also, is that
of schedules and questionnaires. In this method a list of questions
relating to the problem under investigation is prepared and printed.
Thereafter information is collected from various sources in any of
the following ways:
(i) By sending the questionnaire to the persons concerned and
requesting them to answer the questions and return the
questionnaire: The main advantage of this method is that it
is least expensive, and with it information can be collected

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 Introduction to Statistics

from a wide area in a comparatively short period of time. If Notes

the investigation is properly conducted the method can easily
ensure a reasonable standard of accuracy. Success in this method
depends on the co-operation that the informants are prepared
to give. Generally, it has been found that the informants adopt
an attitude of indifference towards such enquiries and in many
cases do not even return the questionnaire. Even those who
answer the questions do so most haphazardly and in a very
vague and unintelligible manner. In order to have correct
answers the investigator should send a very polite letter to
the informants emphasizing the need and usefulness of the
investigation that is being conducted and requesting them to
give their cooperation by sending correct replies. He should
further give them an assurance that if the informants so wish
their replies would be kept confidential. Further the questions
that are asked should be very carefully framed. The questions
should be:
(a) Short and clear
(b) Easy to understand and answer
(c) Few in number
(d) Free from ambiguity
(e) Such as can be answered in Yes or No if opinion is sought
on a particular point.
(f) Corroboratory in nature
(g) Not such which call for confidential information
(h) Not such which may hurt the sentiments of the informants
or may arouse resentment in their minds.
However, this method cannot be used if the informants are illiterate.
(ii) By sending the questionnaires through enumerators to help
the informants in filling the answers: In this method the
enumerators go to the informants along with the questionnaires
and help them in recording their answers. The enumerators
explain the aims and objects of the investigation to the
informants and also emphasize the necessity and usefulness
of correct answers. They also remove the difficulties which
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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes any informant may feel in understanding the implications of

a particular question or the definition or concept of difficult
terms. This method is very useful in extensive enquiries
and with it, fairly dependable results can be expected. It is
however, very expensive and usually such enquiries can be
conducted only by the Government. Population census all over
the world is conducted by this method. In such enquiries it
is necessary that not only the questions are simple and few
in number but the enumerators are also courteous and polite
and have proper training.
(iv) Local Reports: In this method the data is collected through local agents
or correspondents in their own way and to their own likings. This
method yields results promptly and easily and are least expensive.
However, such data cannot be very reliable and is used in those
cases where the purpose of investigation can be served with rough
estimates only and where high degree of precision is not necessary.

1.5 Sources of Secondary Data

We know that secondary data are those which have already been collected
and analysed by someone else, and as such the problems associated with
the original collection of data do not arise here. Secondary data may be
either published or unpublished. The sources of published data are usually:
(a) Official publications of the central, state and the local governments.
(b) Official publications of the foreign government or international bodies
like the United Nations Organization and its subsidiary bodies.
(c) Reports and publications of trade associations, chambers of commerce,
banks, co-operative societies, stock exchanges, and trade unions, etc.
(d) Technical trade journals like the Economics, Indian Journal of
Economics, Commerce, Capital, etc., and books and newspapers.
(e) Reports submitted by economists, research scholars, university bureaus
and various other educational associations, etc.
These sources of unpublished data are varied, and such materials may be
found with scholars and research workers, trade associations, chambers
of commerce, labour bureaus, etc. Many enquiries of a private nature are

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 Introduction to Statistics

conducted by these bodies and these findings are not published and are Notes
usually meant for the consumption of their members only.

Editing and Scrutiny of Secondary Data

The secondary data must be used with caution. It is usually very difficult
to verify such data and to edit them to find out inconsistencies, probable
errors and omissions. Scrutiny of the secondary data is essential because
the data might be inaccurate, unsuitable or inadequate, In the words of
Bowley, “It is never safe to take published statistics at their face value
without knowing their meanings and limitations and it is always necessary
to criticise arguments that can be based on them.” Statistics collected by
other people cannot be fully depended upon as they ‘may contain many
pitfalls and unless they have been thoroughly scrutinized, they should
not be used. The secondary data should possess the following attributes:
(i) They should be reliable. The reliability of the data can be tested by
finding out:
(a) Who collected the data and- from which sources?
(b) Are both the compiler and the source dependable?
(c) Were the data collected by the use of proper methods?
(d) At what time were the data collected? Can it be regarded as normal
time?
(e) Are there any possibilities of deliberate or unconscious bias on the
part of the compiler?
(f) What degree of accuracy was desired by the compiler? Was it achieved?
They should be suitable for the purpose of investigation. Even if the data
are reliable, they should not be used if they are found to be unsuitable
for the purpose of investigation. Data which are suitable for one enquiry
may be entirely unsuitable for another. The definition of various terms
and units of collection must also be carefully scrutinized and the object,
scope and nature of the enquiry should also be properly studied. If there
are differences in these, the data are not fit to be used. They should be
adequate. The data may be found to be reliable and suitable but they
may be inadequate for the purpose of the enquiry. The original data may
refer to an area which is wider or narrower than the area of the present
enquiry and if it is so, they should not be used, because there might be

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes significant variations in different regions. Further the data may not cover
suitable periods; for a monthly study of a phenomenon; yearly figures are
inadequate. Again, the degree of accuracy achieved in the data may be
found to be inadequate for the purpose of the investigation in which they
are proposed to be used. Thus, it is very risky to use statistics collected
by other people unless they have been thoroughly scrutinized and found
reliable, suitable and adequate.

1.6 Quantitative Data and Qualitative Data

Primary and Secondary data can be further classified as:
Quantitative Data: Quantitative data are counts or can be expressed as
numbers. These can be measured, e.g. length, time, temperature, marks,
score in cricket match etc.
Qualitative Data: Qualitative data are descriptive and cannot be counted
or measured. These data depict qualities or characteristics, e.g., honesty,
beauty, intelligence, illness etc.
Discrete Data: If the observations differ from one another by exact mag-
nitude, i.e., it takes integral values then it is called discrete data. This
data is countable. For example, number of students in a school, size of
shoes, number of runs in a match etc. are discrete data.
Continuous Data: If the values are not of exact magnitude but are of
interval type then the data is called continuous data. This data is measur-
able. If we take two real values, it can take on all real values between
them. For example, time, height, weight, length etc. are continuous data.
Time Series Data: It is a collection of observations obtained through
repeated measurements over time. Time series data is a sequence of data
points indexed in time order or data collected at different points in time.
For example, stock price, annual retail sales, weather report, heart rate
etc. are time series data.
Geographical Data: If place, location or geographical division is the main
factor in the data then we get geographical data. For example, number
of cancer patients in different states, number of fields under a particular
crop in different districts of a state, etc.

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 Introduction to Statistics

Notes
1.7 Levels of Measurements
Scales of measurement or level of measure describes the nature of infor-
mation within the numbers assigned to variables. Best known classifica-
tion is with four levels or scales of measurement are nominal, ordinal,
interval, and ratio.
1. Nominal Scale of measurement deals with variables that are non-
numeric or numbers without any value. That is the measurement
is said to be on nominal scale if the observations are taken in
accordance with some attribute or quality. For example, married or
unmarried; literate or illiterate; male or female; nationality, religion,
etc. In nominal scaling the numerical values are categorized in such
a way that they are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive.
Since nominal scale has no order and no arithmetic origin, it is said
to be least powerful among four scales.
2. Ordinal Scales The scale is said to be ordinal when some definite
order or rank is also given along with the nominal scale. For
example, if the data is collected on the basis of intelligence i.e.
genius, above average, average, dull, etc. and are ranked as 1, 2, 3
and so on. In ordinal scaling the numerical values are categorized
to denote qualitative differences among the various categories as
well as rank ordered in some meaningful way according to some
preference. However, the ordinal scale does not give any indication
of the magnitude of difference among the ranks. Therefore, ordinal
scale of measurement looks at variables where the order matters
but the; differences do not matter. If A is better than B, which is
better than C, and so on. But is A four times better than D? Is it
two times better? As, the order is important but not the differences.
3. Interval Scales In the interval scale the data are represented in
a definite interval. Interval scale is interpretable, i.e. it not only
classifies individuals according to certain categories and determine
order of these categories, it also measures the magnitude of the
differences in the preferences among the individuals and we can
perform arithmetic operations on the data collected.
Example is temperature as the difference between each value is
the same difference between 45 and 30 degrees is measurable 15

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Notes degrees, also the difference between 90 and 75 degrees. Time is

everyday example in which the increments are known, consistent,
and measurable of an Interval Scale.
4. Ratio Scales of measurement is the most informative scale. It is
an interval scale with the additional property that its zero position
indicates the absence of the quantity being measured. A ratio scale
can be considered as the three earlier scales rolled up in one. Like
a nominal scale, it provides a name or category for each object, the
numbers as labels. Like an Ordinal Scale, the objects are ordered
ordering of the numbers. Similar to an interval scale, the same
difference at two places on the scale has the same meaning. And
in addition, the same ratio at two places on the scale also carries
the same meaning.
Ratio scales are the ultimate to measurement scales because they tell us
the order, the exact value between units and also have an absolute zero
which allows for both descriptive and inferential statistics. Everything
about interval data applies to ratio scales to have a clear definition of
zero examples include height and weight.
Ratio scales provide possibilities to statistical analysis, as variables can
be added, subtracted, multiplied, divided (ratios). Central tendency can
be measured by mode, median, or mean; measures of dispersion, such
as standard deviation and coefficient of variation can also be calculated
from ratio scales.

1.8 Presentation of Data

The data obtained in the original form is called raw data or ungrouped
data. This data is condensed into groups or classes in order to study
their salient features. Such an arrangement is called presentation of data.
Raw data can be arranged as follows:
(i) Serial order
(ii) Ascending order
(iii) Descending order
If the raw data is arranged in ascending or descending order of magni-
tude, it is called an array.

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 Introduction to Statistics

For example, suppose 50 students obtained the following marks in a Notes

Mathematics test.
41, 23, 6, 32, 22, 18, 13, 38, 15, 18, 19, 2, 7, 9, 10, 19, 15, 22, 22, 41,
11, 49, 31, 17, 28, 37, 4, 6, 27, 29, 36, 26, 3, 29, 20, 15, 48, 17, 20,
40, 45, 46, 45, 48, 49, 47, 46, 35, 32 and 34.
To get wiser picture, we arrange them in either ascending or descending
order. Now we arrange the data given in above example in ascending order.
2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 15, 15, 17,17, 18, 18, 19, 19, 20, 20,
22, 22, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 29, 31, 32, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40,
41, 41, 45, 45, 46, 46, 47, 48, 48, 49, 49.
But this method also does not reduce the bulk of the data. The most
appropriate measure is to represent the data in tabular form which we
will be discussing in the next chapter.

1.9 Exercise
1. Divide your class into five groups and ask them to collect data from
day to day life.
2. Classify the data collected in question no. in primary and secondary
data.
3. Discuss the meaning and scope of Statistics.
4. What do you understand by the word ‘Statistics’ in (i) Singular form
(ii) Plural form.
5. Define some fundamental characteristics of Statistics.
6. What are primary and secondary data? Which of the two is more
reliable and why?
7. Explain the purpose and methods of classification of data.
8. Distinguish between primary and secondary data. What are the various
methods used in collecting primary data. Examine the relative merits
and limitations of each method.
9. “In collection of statistical data commonsense is the chief requisite
and experience the chief teacher.” Discuss the above statement with
comments.

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes 10. Mention the different kinds of statistical methods generally used in
investigations. Are there any fields of enquiry where these methods
cannot be used?
11. “Though figures cannot lie, yet liars can figure”. Expand the above
statement so as to explain its bearing on the use of secondary
statistical data.
12. How will you organise an investigation into the handloom weaving
industry of Uttar Pradesh? Prepare a questionnaire for the purpose.
13. How far do the results of statistical investigations depend upon correct
sampling? Compare the methods used to secure representative data.
14. State and explain the law of statistical regularity. Discuss the methods
generally used in sampling.
15. Compare the different methods used in the collection of statistical
data. Explain the importance of determining a statistical unit in the
collection of data.
16. Distinguish between a census and a sample enquiry and briefly discuss
their comparative advantages. Which of these methods would you
prefer for calculating the total wages of workers in a given industry?

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 L E S S O N

2
Frequency Distribution

STRUCTURE
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Frequency Distribution
2.3 Frequency Distribution of an Ungrouped Data
2.4 Procedure of Arranging the Given Data Into Class Intervals
2.5 When the Mid Value of the Class and the Class Size are Given
2.6 Cumulative Frequency
2.7 Types of Cumulative Frequencies
2.8 Miscellaneous Questions
2.9 Exercise

2.1 Introduction
Classification of the data helps in organizing raw data into smaller groups which facili-
tates comparison. It helps in studying the relationship between several characteristics and
facilitates further statistical treatment.
Primary rules that should be followed while classifying are:
1. The classes should be unambiguously defined.
2. Every observation must belong to one class or the other i.e. classes should be exhaustive.
3. As far as possible, classes should be of equal width.
The number of classes should neither be too large nor too small.

2.2 Frequency Distribution

The number of times an observation occurs is called the frequency.
The tabular arrangement of data showing the frequency of each item is called a frequency
distribution.

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Notes Thus, there are two types of frequency distributions, of grouped data.
1. Inclusive form (Discontinuous form): A frequency distribution in
which both lower and upper limit of each class is included in the
class.
2. Exclusive form (Continuous form): A frequency distribution in which
upper limit of each class is excluded and lower limit is included.

2.3 Frequency Distribution of an Ungrouped Data

Tally method. A bar (|) called tally mark is put against the number when
it occurs. When occurred 4 times, the fifth occurrence is represented by
putting diagonally across tally (\) on the first four tallies. This technique
facilitates the counting of the tally marks at the end.
Example 1: The number of books sold per day at a bookseller shop
during the month of June, 2002 are given below:
46, 44, 50, 50, 45, 50, 42, 43, 50, 46, 41, 42, 41, 46, 44, 50, 42, 43, 50,
42, 45, 45, 45, 41, 42, 43, 44, 43, 43, 43
Prepare a frequency distribution table by tally methods.
Solution: In the figure column of the table, we write all the numbers
from lowest to highest. In second column we put tally marks and in the
third column we write down the frequency.
Frequency Distribution of Books
No. of Books Tally Marks Frequency
41 ||| 3
42 |||| 5
43 |||| | 6
44 ||| 3
45 |||| 4
46 ||| 3
50 |||| | 6
Total 30

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 Frequency Distribution

Example 2: The distance (in km) of 40 female engineers from their res- Notes
idence to their place of work were found as follows:
5 3 10 20 25 11 13 7 12 31
19 10 12 17 18 11 32 17 16 2
7 9 7 8 3 5 12 15 18 3
12 14 2 9 6 15 15 7 6 12
Construct a grouped frequency distribution table with class size 5 for the
data given above, taking the first interval as 0-5 (5 not included). What
main features do you observe from this tabular representation?
Solution: Frequency distribution of above data in tabular form is as follows:
Distances (in km) Tally Marks Frequency
0–5 |||| 5
5–10 |||| |||| | 11
10–15 |||| |||| | 11
15–20 |||| |||| 9
20–25 | 1
25–30 | 1
30–35 || 2
Total 40
We observe that:
(i) The residence of 22 female engineers is within 5 to15 km.
(ii) The residence of 4 female engineers is within 20 to 35 km.
Example 3: The relative humidity (in%) of a certain city for a month
of 30 days was as follows:
98.1 98.6 99.2 90.3 86.5 95.3 92.9 96.3 94.2 95.1
89.2 92.3 97.1 93.5 92.7 95.1 97.2 93.3 95.2 97.3
96.2 92.1 84.9 90.2 95.7 98.3 97.3 96.1 92.1 89
(i) Construct a grouped frequency distribution table with classes 84–86,
86–88 etc.
(ii) Which month or season do you think this data is about?
(iii) What is the range of this data?

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Notes Solution:
(i) Frequency distribution of above data in tabular form as
Relative Humidity
(in%) Frequency
84–86 1
86–88 1
88–90 2
90–92 2
92–94 7
94–96 6
96–98 7
98–100 4
Total 30
(ii) This data is related to the rainy season.
(iii) Range 99.2 – 84.9 = 14.3
Example 4: The following data represents the life times in hour of 20
bulbs produced by a factory:
235, 236, 238, 232, 230, 239, 235, 236, 237, 231, 240, 239, 233, 232,
240, 231, 239, 238, 233, 230.
Construct a frequency table for the given data. Use your table to answer
the following questions.
(i) How many bulbs had life time more than 235 hours?
(ii) How many bulbs had lifetime less than 234 hours?
(iii) What percent of bulbs had lifetime more than 238 hours?
(iv) The manufacturer claimed that 70% of the bulbs produced by his
factory has a minimum lifetime of 236 hours. What percent of the
bulbs did not fulfil the claim?
Solution: Frequency Distribution of bulbs is as follows:
Lifetime (in Hours) Tally Marks Frequency
230 || 2
231 || 2
232 || 2
233 || 2

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 Frequency Distribution

Lifetime (in Hours) Tally Marks Frequency Notes

234 - 0
235 || 2
236 || 2
237 | 1
238 || 2
239 ||| 3
240 || 2
Total 20
1. Number of bulbs having life time more than 235 hours = 10
2. Number of bulbs having life time less than 234 hours = 8
3. Percentage of bulbs having life time more than 238 hours
= 5/20 × 100
= 25%
4. Percentage of bulbs having minimum life time of 236 hours.
= 10/20 × 100
= 50%
Claim by manufacture is 70%
Actual percentage is 50%
Therefore, percentage of bulbs which did not fulfil the claim will
be 70% - 50% = 20%
Example 5: The marks obtained by 30 students in a class in a test out
of 10 marks are as follows:
3, 5, 4, 0, 4, 3, 2, 5, 7, 9, 6, 0, 7, 4, 3, 8, 6, 9, 2, 1, 3, 4, 2, 5, 6, 7,
3, 9, 2, 8.
Make a frequency distribution table for the above data. Use the table to
find:
(i) The number of students passed, if the minimum pass marks is 40%?
(ii) How many students failed?
(iii) How many students secured the highest marks?
(iv) How many students received more than 60% of marks?

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Notes Solution:
Marks Obtained Tally Marks Frequency
0 || 2
1 | 1
2 |||| 4
3 |||| 5
4 |||| 4
5 ||| 3
6 ||| 3
7 ||| 3
8 || 2
9 ||| 3
10 0
Total 30
(i) Number of students who got pass marks = 18 Ans.
(ii) Number of students failed = 12 Ans.
(iii) Number of students who secured highest marks = 3 Ans.
(iv) Number of students who received more than 60% = 8 Ans.
Sometimes the data is so large that it is inconvenient to list every mark
in the frequency distribution table. Then we group the marks into con-
venient intervals. Consider the following data of the marks obtained by
30 students: 84, 75, 93, 48, 60, 57, 61, 67, 53, 39, 50, 66, 81,49, 54,
88, 78, 64, 35, 69, 46, 52, 73, 5

2.4 Procedure of Arranging the Given Data Into Class

Intervals
‹ Step 1 - Range: Determine the difference between the minimum
and maximum marks. This is called range of the data.
Range = Maximum mark – Minimum mark. Here the maximum and
minimum marks are 93 and 35 respectively. Therefore, the Range =
93 – 35 = 58.
‹ Step 2 - Class Size: Decide the class size. Let the class size be 10.
‹ Step 3 - Number of Classes: Divide the range into groups such
that the number of groups may lie between 5 and 15.
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Let the class size = 10 Notes

No. of classes = Range/Class Size
Range = 58 and Class size = 10
Thus, number of classes = 5.8 = 6 (say)
We should have 6 classes, each of size 10.
The 6 classes are 35 – 44, 45 – 54, 55 – 64, 65 – 74, 75 – 84 and
85 – 94. The first class 35 – 44 includes the minimum value 35
and the maximum value 44.
Class Intervals: Each of the groups formed above is called a class
intervals or simply a class.
‹ Step 4 - Maximum Value and Minimum Value: The minimum value
of the variate should be included in the first class. The maximum
value of the variate should be included in the last class interval.
‹ Step 5 - Tally: The marks in the proper class as shown in the table
below. After four tally marks put a slant line for the fifth mark
cutting the previous four tally marks. Each class - intervals covers
10 marks. This (10) is called the size of the class.
Class Intervals Tally Marks Frequency
35 – 44 ||| 3
45 – 54 |||| || 7
55 – 64 |||| 5
65 – 74 |||| | 6
75 – 84 |||| 5
85 – 94 |||| 4
Total 30
Class Limits: The lowest and highest marks which are included in a
class are called lower class limit and upper-class limit of the class. For
example, in the class interval 35 – 44, the lower-class limit is 35 and
the upper-class limit is 44. This type of class intervals is called discon-
tinuous or Inclusive form since both 35 and 44 are included in the class
interval 35 – 44.
Class Boundaries/Actual Class Limits/True Class Limits: Assume that
the marks are given in fractions. Which class will include the marks 44.5?

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Notes It should be included in 35 – 44 or 45 – 54? The class boundary is

calculated as the average of the upper- and lower-class limits of the
adjacent classes, i.e.,
[44 (upper limit of first class) + 45 (lower limit of second class)]/2 =
89/2 = 44.5
The above table is re-written as:
Class Actual Class Frequency
35 – 44 34.5 – 44.5 3
45 – 54 44.5 – 54.5 7
55 – 64 54.5 – 64.5 5
65 – 74 64.5 – 74.5 6
75 – 84 74.5 – 84.5 5
85 – 94 84.5 – 94.5 4
Total 30

1. In class 54.5 – 64.5, the lower-class boundary is 54.5 and the upper-
class boundary is 64.5.
2. Class size is (64.5 – 54.5) = 10, is same for each class.
3. Marks 54.5 will be included in the class 54.5 – 64.5 while marks
64.5 will be included in the next class i.e., 64.5 – 74.5.
These types of class intervals are called continuous or exclusive form
since the upper limit of the class is excluded from the class and is in-
cluded in the next class.
Class Mark: Class mark is the mid value of a particular class i.e., the
average of its class limits or class boundaries.
For example, for the class 35 – 44, the class mark = (35 + 44)/2 = 39.5
Class mark is the representative of its class.
Class Mark (or Mid-Value of the class) = (Upper class limit + lower
class limit)/2
Example 6: The following data gives marks out of 60 obtained by 30
students of a class in a test:
50, 22, 56, 47, 27, 37, 40, 16, 12, 33, 29, 49, 35, 15, 43, 29, 31, 22, 51,
27, 29, 27, 22, 18, 20, 11, 19, 31, 23, 58.

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Arrange them in ascending order and present it as a grouped data (i) in Notes
Inclusive form and (ii) in Exclusive form.
Solution: Arranging the marks in ascending order we get 11, 12, 15, 16,
18, 19, 20, 22, 22, 22, 23, 27, 27, 27, 29, 29, 29, 31, 31, 33, 35, 37, 40,
43,47,49, 50, 51, 56, 58.
(i) Inclusive Form
Frequency Distribution of Marks
Marks (Class Intervals) Tally Marks Frequency
11 – 20 |||| || 7
21 – 30 |||| |||| 10
31 – 40 |||| | 6
41 – 50 |||| 4
51 – 60 ||| 3
Total 30

(ii) Exclusive Form

Frequency Distribution of Marks
Marks No. of Students
(Class Intervals) Tally Marks (Frequency)
11 – 21 |||| || 7
21 – 31 |||| |||| 10
31 – 41 |||| | 6
41 – 51 |||| 4
51 – 61 ||| 3
Total 30
From the above example, both the inclusive and exclusive methods give
us the same class frequency although the class intervals are apparently
different in two cases.
Class interval 11 – 21 means marks obtained are 11 and more but less
than 21. Clearly, 21 does not belong to this class 11 – 21.
Example 7: The monthly wages of 30 workers in a factory are given below:
830, 835, 890, 810, 835, 836, 869, 845, 898, 890, 820, 860, 832, 833,
855, 845, 804, 808, 812, 840, 885, 835, 836, 878, 840, 868, 890, 806,
840, 890.

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Notes Represent the data in the form of a frequency distribution with class
size 10.
Solution: Minimum monthly wage = 804 Maximum monthly wage = 898
Range = Maximum monthly wage – Minimum monthly wages = 898 –
804 = 94
Size of the class interval = 10
Range class size= 94/10= 9.4
Number of class intervals = 10.
The minimum value = 804
The first-class interval is 804 – 814
Thus, the other class intervals are
814 – 824, 824 – 834, 834 – 844, 844 – 854, 854 – 864, 864 – 874,874
– 884, 884 – 894, 894 – 904.
So, we obtain the following frequency distribution table:
Frequency Distribution of Monthly Wages
Monthly Wages Tally Marks Frequency
804 – 814 |||| 5
814 – 824 | 1
824 – 834 ||| 3
834 – 844 |||| ||| 8
844 – 854 || 2
854 – 864 || 2
864 – 874 || 2
874 – 884 | 1
884 – 894 |||| 5
894 – 904 | 1
Total 30

Example 8: The following are weekly wages of 30 workers. Tabulate

the data by grouping them in equal class intervals, one of them being
90 – 100 (100 not included):
96, 162, 108, 168, 138, 94, 128, 70, 88, 154, 134, 154, 88, 150, 86, 126,
150, 76, 62, 168, 158, 108, 102, 160, 76, 124, 150, 74, 94, 142.

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Solution: The minimum and maximum weekly wages in the given raw Notes
data are 62 and 168. It is given that 90 – 100 is one of the class intervals
and the class size in same. So, the classes of equal sizes are:
60 – 70, 70 – 80, 80 – 90, 90 – 100, 100 – 110, 110 – 120, 120 – 130,
130 – 140, 140 – 150, 150 – 160, 160 – 170.
Frequency Distribution of Weekly Wages
Weekly Wages
(in Rs.) Tally Marks Frequency
60 – 70 | 1
70 – 80 |||| 4
80 – 90 ||| 3
90 – 100 ||| 3
100 –110 ||| 3
110 – 120 .... 0
120 – 130 ||| 3
130 – 140 || 2
140 – 150 | 1
150 – 160 |||| | 6
160 – 170 |||| 4
Total 30
Note: The above frequency table is prepared by the exclusive meth-
od. The observation 150 is not included in the class 140 – 150 but
is included in the next class 150 – 160. Similarly, 160 is included
in the class 160 – 170.

Example 9: The class marks of a distribution are 61, 66, 71, 76, 81, 86,
91, 96, 101, 106. Determine the class size, class limits and true class limits.
Solution: Here the class marks are uniformly spaced, so the class size
is the difference between any two consecutive class marks.
Therefore, class size = 66 – 61 = 5.
Let the lower limit of the first-class interval be a.
Then its upper limit = a + 5
Mid-value of the first interval = 61
Class mark = (Upper limit + Lower limit)/2

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Notes Then,
[a + (a + 5)]/2 = 61
a + (a + 5) = 122
2a + 5 = 122
2a = 117
a = 58.5
The first-class interval is 58.5 – 63.5.
and the other class intervals are 58.5 – 63.5, 63.5 – 68.5, 68.5 – 73.5,
73.5 – 78.5, 78.5 – 83.5, 83.5 – 88.5, 88.5 – 93.5, 93.5 – 98.5, 98.5 –
103.5 and 103.5 – 108.5.
Class Marks Class Interval
61 58.5 – 63.5
66 63.5 – 68.5
71 68.5 – 73.5
76 73.5 – 78.5
81 78.5 – 83.5
86 83.5 – 88.5
91 88.5 – 93.5
96 93.5 – 98.5
101 98.5 – 103.5
106 103.5 – 108.5
Therefore, the classes are exclusive, so the true class limits are same as
class limits. The lower-class limits are 58.5, 63.5, 68.5, 73.5, 78.5, 83.5,
88.5, 93.5, 98.5 and 103.5.
The upper-class limits are 63.5, 68.5, 73.5, 78.5, 83.5, 88.5, 93.5, 98.5,
103.5 and 108.5.

2.5 When the Mid Value of the Class and the Class Size
are Given
Example 10: The following data gives the weights (in grams) of 50 or-
anges picked from a basket. Construct a grouped frequency distribution
taking class-intervals of equal width 20 in such a way that the mid-value
of the first-class interval is 10.

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106, 107, 76, 82, 109, 107, 115, 93, 187, 95, 123, 125, 11, 92, 86, 70, Notes
126, 68, 130, 129, 139, 119, 115, 128, 100, 18, 84, 99, 113, 204, 111,
141, 136, 123, 90, 115, 98, 110, 7, 90, 107, 81, 131, 75, 84, 104, 1
Solution: Here the size of each class = 20
Mid-value of the first class = 10
Let the lower limit of the first-class interval be a.
Then its upper limit = a + 20
Mid-value of the first interval = 10
Frequency Distribution = 21
(a + (a + 20))/2 = 10
a + a + 20 = 20
2a = 0
a = 0
Upper limit of the class = 0 + 20 = 20
Thus, First-class-interval is 0 – 20 and then other classes are:
20 – 40, 40 – 60, 60 – 80, 80 – 100, 100 – 120, 120 – 140, 140 – 160,
160 – 180, 180 – 200 and 200 – 220.
Frequency Distribution of Weights
Weights (in Grams) Tally Marks Frequency
0 – 20 ||| 3
20 – 40 .... 0
40 – 60 .... 0
60 – 80 |||| 4
80 – 100 |||| |||| |||| 14
100 – 120 |||| |||| |||| | 16
120 – 140 |||| |||| 10
140 – 160 | 1
160 – 180 .... 0
180 – 200 | 1
200 – 220 | 1
Total 50

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Notes Example 11: The weights in gms of 50 mangoes picked at random from
a consignment are as follows:
141, 123, 92,85, 214, 91, 94, 128, 114, 120, 90, 117, 121, 151, 146, 133,
100, 88, 100, 125, 120, 108, 116, 109, 117, 94, 86, 196, 92, 110, 119,
138, 125, 117, 125, 129, 103, 197, 149, 139, 140, 78, 205, 133, 135,
121, 102, 96, 80, 136.
Form the grouped frequency table by dividing the variable range into
intervals of equal width of 20 gms such that the mid-value of the first
interval is 80 gms.
Solution: It is given that size of each class = 20.
Let the lower limit of the first-class interval be a. Then, its upper limit
= (a + 20)
Mid-value of the first-class interval = 80
(a + (a + 20))/2= 80
2a + 20 = 160
2a = 140
a = 70
Thus, the first-class interval is 70 – 90 and the other classes are:
90 – 110, 110 – 130, 130 – 150, 150 – 170, 170 – 190, 190 – 210, 210
– 230
So, the frequency distribution table is as under:
Frequency Distribution of Weights of Mangoes
Weight (in gm) Tally Marks Frequency
70 – 90 |||| 5
90–110 |||| |||| ||| 13
110–130 |||| |||| |||| || 17
130 – 150 |||| |||| 10
150 – 170 | 1
170 – 190 .... 0
190 – 210 ||| 3
210 – 230 | 1
Total 50

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Notes
2.6 Cumulative Frequency
Definition: The cumulative frequency corresponding to a class is the
sum of all the frequencies up to and including that class. Let us consider
marks obtained by 50 students in M.Sc. in a test.
1 student secured zero marks.
3 students, each secured 5 marks.
9 students, each secured 10 marks and so on.
How many students secured 10 marks or less marks?
Then we have to add all the frequencies corresponding to 0 marks, 5
marks and 10
i.e., (1 + 3 + 9) students = 13 students.
It means 13 students secured 10 marks or less than 10 marks. 13 is
termed as cumulative frequency for marks 10.
i.e., 1 + 3 + 9 + 11 = 24
It means 24 students secured 14 marks or less than 14 marks.
24 is termed as cumulative frequency for marks 14.

2.7 Types of Cumulative Frequencies

There are two types of cumulative frequencies. (i) Less than series (ii)
More than series.
For less than cumulative frequencies we add up the frequencies from above.
For more than cumulative frequencies we add up the frequencies from below.
Example 12: Construct cumulative frequency distribution (less than series
and more than series) from the following data:
Marks Obtained 0 – 20 20 – 40 40 – 60 60 – 80 80 – 100
No. of Students 2 7 11 18 12
Solution:
(i) Less than cumulative frequency table
Cumulative Frequency Distribution Table
Marks Obtained No. of Students (Cumulative Frequency)
Less than 20 2
Less than 40 9 = 2 + 7

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Notes Less than 60 20 = 2 + 7 + 11

Less than 80 38 = 2 + 7 + 11 + 18
Less than 100 50 = 2 + 7 + 11 + 18 + 12
(ii) More than cumulative frequency table
Cumulative Frequency Distribution Table
Marks Obtained No. of Students (Cumulative Frequency)
More than 0 50 = (12 + 18 + 11 + 7 + 2)
More than 19 48 = (12 + 18 + 11 + 7)
More than 39 41 = (12 + 18 + 11)
More than 59 30 = (12 + 18)
More than 79 12
Example 13: Following are the ages in years of 360 patients getting
medical treatment in a hospital:
Age (in years) 10 – 20 20 – 30 30 – 40 40 – 50 50 – 60 60 – 70
No. of Patients 90 50 60 80 50 30
Construct the cumulative frequency table (less than series and more than
series) for the above data.
Solution:
Cumulative Frequency Distribution Table (Less Than Type)
Age (in years) No. of Patients
less than 20 90
less than 30 140 = (90 + 50)
less than 40 200 = (90 + 50 + 60)
less than 50 280 = (90 + 50 + 60 + 80)
less than 60 330 = (90 + 50 + 60 + 80 + 50)
less than 70 360 = (90 + 50 + 60 + 80 + 50 + 30)

Cumulative Frequency Distribution Table (More Than Type)

Age (in Years) No. of Patients
More than 9 360 = (30 + 50 + 80 + 60 + 50 +90)
More than 19 270 = (30 + 50 + 80 + 60 + 50)
More than 29 220 = (30 + 50 + 80 + 60)

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More than 39 160 = (30 + 50 + 80) Notes

More than 49 80 = (30 + 50)
More than 59 30
Example 14: A cumulative frequency distribution is given below. Convert
this into a frequency distribution table.
Marks Less Less Less Less Less Less Less Less
than than than than than than than than
30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
No. of Students 5 8 20 24 31 40 46 48
Solution: To form a frequency distribution from cumulative frequency
distribution, we subtract the cumulative frequency of preceding class from
the cumulative frequency of each class. The result gives us the frequency
for that class. A required frequency distribution table is given below:
Marks No. of Students
0 – 30 5
30 – 40 3 = 8 – 5
40 – 50 12 = 20 – 8
50 – 60 4 = 24 – 20
60 – 70 7 = 31 – 24
70 – 80 9 = 40 – 31
80 – 90 6 = 46 – 40
90 – 100 2 = 48 – 46
Example 15: Make a frequency table from the following:
Age More More More More More More More More More More More
than than than than than than than than than than than
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
No. of Persons 0 7 18 26 41 63 75 98 117 139 150

Solution:
Age No. of Persons
0 – 10 11 = 150 – 139
10 – 20 22 = 139 – 117
20 – 30 19 = 117 – 98
30 – 40 23 = 98 – 75
40 – 50 12 = 75 – 63

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Notes 50 – 60 22 = 63 – 41
60 – 70 15 = 41 – 26
70 – 80 8 = 26 – 18
80 – 90 11 = 18 – 7
90 – 100 7 = 7 – 0
Example 16: Find the unknown entries (a, b, c, d, e, f, g) in the fol-
lowing frequency distribution table of heights of 50 students in a class:
Class (Heights in cm) Frequency Cumulative Frequency
150 – 155 12 a
155 – 160 b 25
160 – 165 10 c
165 – 170 d 43
170 – 175 e 48
175 – 180 2 f
g 50
Solution: Cumulative Frequency Distribution Table (More than type)
x Class (Height in cm) Frequency Cumulative Frequency
less than 155 12 12 = a
less than 160 b 12 + b = 25
less than 165 10 12 + b + 10 = c
less than 170 d 12 + b + 10 + d = 43
less than 175 e 12 + b + 10 + d + e = 48
less than 180 2 12 + b + 10 + d + e + 2 = f
g 50

a = 12
12 + b = 25
b = 25 – 12 = 13
12 + b + 10 = c
12 + 13 + 10 = c
c = 35
12 + b + 10 +d = 43
12 + 13 + 10 + d = 43, or d = 43 – 12 – 13 – 10 = 8
12 + b + 10 +d + e = 48 or 12 + 13 + 10 + 8 + e = 48
43 + e = 48 or e = 5

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12 + b + 10 + d + e + or 12 + 13 + 10 + 8 + 5 + Notes
2 = f 2 = f
50 = f
g = 50
Hence, a = 12, b= 13, c = 35, d = 8, e =5, f = 50, g = 50

2.8 Miscellaneous Questions

Example 17: A sample consists of 34 observations recorded correct to
the nearest integer, ranging in value from 201 to 337. If it is decided to
use seven classes of width 20 integers and to begin in the first class at
199.5, find the class limits and class marks of the seven classes.
Solution: The class limits will be the range of values that each class
covers, and the class marks will be the midpoint of each class interval.
Class Interval (h): The class interval is given as 20.
Starting Point: The first class starts at 199.5.
Number of Classes (k): The number of classes is given as 7.
To find the class limits and class marks, we will follow these steps:
‹ Lower Limit of the First Class (L1): 199.5
‹ Upper Limit of the First Class (U1): L1 + h = 199.5 + 20 = 219.5
‹ Lower Limit of the Second Class (L2): 219.5
‹ Upper Limit of the First Class (U2): L2 + h = 219.5 + 20 = 239.5
For the subsequent classes: Lower Limit of the (i + 1)th Class (Li+1): Ui
and Upper Limit of the (i+1)th Class (Ui+1): Li+1+h
The class mark (M) for each class is calculated by adding lower limits
and upper limits and dividing it by 2. For the first Class, Class Mark
will be (199.5 + 219.5)/2 = 209.5
The following table gives the class limits and class marks of the seven
classes.
Class Lower Limit Upper Limit Class Mark
1 199.5 219.5 209.5
2 219.5 239.5 229.5

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Notes 3 239.5 259.5 249.5

4 259.5 279.5 269.5
5 279.5 299.5 289.5
6 299.5 319.5 309.5
7 319.5 339.5 329.5
Example 18: In a trip organized by a college there were 80 persons,
each of whom paid Rs. 15.50 on an average. There were 60 students
each of whom paid Rs. 16. Members of the teaching staff charged at a
higher rate. The number of servants were 6 (all males) and they were not
charged anything. The number of ladies was 20% of the total of which
one was lady staff member. Tabulate the above information.
Solution:
Table Showing the Type of Participants, Sex, and Contribution Made
Contribution
Sex per Member Total Contribution
Type of Participants Males Females Total (Rs.) (Rs.)
Students 45 15 60 16.00 960
Teaching Staff 13 1 14 20.00 280
Servants 6 ----- 6 ----- -----
Total 64 16 80 1240

Notes:
1. Total Contribution = Average contribution × No. of persons joined
the trip
= 15.5 × 80 = 1240
2. Contribution of the staff per head has been obtained by deducting the
contribution of students from the total and dividing the difference
by the number of teaching staff i.e.

Example 19: A survey of 370 students from Commerce Faculty and 130
students from Science Faculty revealed that 180 students were studying
for only C.A. Examination, 140 for only Costing Examination and 80
for both C.A. and Costing Examinations. The rest had offered part-time

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Management Course. Of those studying for Costing only, 13 were girls Notes
and 90 boys belong to Commerce Faculty. Out of 80 studying for both
C.A. and Costing 72 were from Commerce Faculty amongst which 70
were boys. Amongst those who offered part-time Management Course,
50 boys were from Science Faculty and 30 boys and 10 girls from Com-
merce Faculty. In all there were 110 boys in Science Faculty. Present the
above information in tabular form. Find the number of students studying
for part-time Management Course.
Solution:
Distribution of Students According to Professional Course
Faculty
Commerce Commerce Commerce Science Science Science Total Total Grand
Courses Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total
Part-time 30 10 40 50 10 60 80 20 100
Management
Only C.A. 150 8 158 16 6 22 166 14 180
Only Costing 90 10 103 37 3 40 127 13 140
C.A. and 70 2 72 7 1 8 77 3 80
Costing
Total 340 30 370 110 20 130 450 50 500

Note on Calculations:
‹ Total number of students = 370 (Commerce) + 130 (Science) = 500
‹ Students studying in part-time management courses = 500 – (180
+ 140 + 80) = 500 – 400 = 100
Example 20: Prepare a frequency table for the following data with width
of each class-interval as 10. Use exclusive method of classification.
57 44 80 75 0 18 45 14 4 64
72 51 69 34 22 83 70 20 57 28
96 56 50 47 10 43 61 66 80 46
22 10 84 50 47 73 42 33 48 65
10 34 66 53 75 90 58 46 38 69
Solution:
Preparation of Frequency Distribution
Variable Tally Bars Frequency
0–10 || 2
10–20 |||| 5

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Notes 20–30 |||| 4

30–40 |||| 5
40–50 |||| ||| 8
50–60 |||| ||| 8
60–70 |||| || 7
70–80 |||| 5
80–90 |||| 4
90–100 || 2
Total = 50
Example 21: Prepare a continuous frequency distribution from the fol-
lowing observation:
75 42 70 37 62 70 50
60 45 81 56 31 45 25
31 62 78 80 78 56 55
75 58 72 32 50 26 70
15 55 40 68 35 60 60
42 81 43 69 65 62 58
42 80 40 45 75 45 62
Solution: Since the lowest value is 15 and largest is 81 and suppose we
want to take 10 class intervals.
Continuous Frequency Distribution
Class Intervals Tallies Frequency
15-25 | 1
25-35 |||| 5
35-45 |||| ||| 8
45-55 |||| | 6
55-65 |||| |||| ||| 13
65-75 |||| || 7
75-85 |||| |||| 9
Total = 49
Example 22: Count the number of letters in each word of the para
given below (ignore punctuation marks). Prepare the discrete frequency
distribution.

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 Frequency Distribution

“There is no problem which I and God cannot solve together.” Notes

“There is no situation which I and God cannot handle together.”
“There is no burden which I and God cannot bear together.”
Solution:
Step 1:
1. First Sentence: “There is no problem which I and God cannot solve
together.”
‹ Words: There, is, no, problem, which, I, and, God, cannot,
solve, together
‹ Letter Counts: 5, 2, 2, 7, 5, 1, 3, 3, 6, 5, 8

2. Second Sentence: “There is no situation which I and God cannot

handle together.”
‹ Words: There, is, no, situation, which, I, and, God, cannot,
handle, together
‹ Letter Counts: 5, 2, 2, 9, 5, 1, 3, 3, 6, 6, 8

3. Third Sentence: “There is no burden which I and God cannot bear

together.”
‹ Words: There, is, no, burden, which, I, and, God, cannot, bear,
together
‹ Letter Counts: 5, 2, 2, 6, 5, 1, 3, 3, 6, 4, 8

Step 2: Create Discrete Frequency Distribution

We will now count the frequency of each letter count across all three
sentences.
‹ 1 letter: I (3 times)

‹ 2 letters: is, no (6 times)

‹ 3 letters: and, God (6 times)

‹ 4 letters: bear (1 time)

‹ 5 letters: There, which, solve (7 times)

‹ 6 letters: cannot, burden, handle (5 times)

‹ 7 letters: problem (1 time)

‹ 8 letters: together (3 times)

‹ 9 letters: situation (1 time)

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Notes Discrete Frequency Distribution

Number of
Letters Tally Frequency
1 ||| 3
2 |||| | 6
3 |||| | 6
4 | 1
5 |||| || 7
6 |||| 5
7 | 1
8 ||| 3
9 | 1
Total = 3
Example 23: Following are the numbers of items of similar type produced
in a factory during the last 50 days.
21 22 17 23 27 15 16 22 15 23
24 25 36 19 14 21 24 25 14 18
20 31 22 19 18 20 21 20 36 18
21 20 31 22 19 18 20 20 24 35
25 26 19 32 22 26 25 26 27 22
Arrange these observations in to a frequency distribution with both inclu-
sive and exclusive class intervals choosing a suitable number of classes.
Solution:
Range Calculation: Minimum value: 14 and Maximum value: 36. There-
fore, Range: 36 – 14 = 22
Since the number of observations are 50, it seems reasonable to choose
6 (2^6 > 50) or less classes. The class interval is given by
Range 22
=h = = 3.66 or 4
 Number of classes 6

Performing the actual tally and counting the number of observations in

each class, we get the following frequency distribution with inclusive
class intervals as shown in Table 2.1.

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Table 2.1: Frequency Distribution with Inclusive Class Intervals Notes

Frequency
Class Intervals Tally (Number of Items Produced)
14 - 17 |||| | 6
18 - 21 |||| |||| |||| ||| 18
22 - 25 |||| |||| |||| 15
26 - 29 |||| 5
30 - 33 ||| 3
34 - 37 ||| 3
Total 50
Converting the class intervals shown in Table 2.1 in to exclusive class
intervals is shown in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2: Frequency Distribution with Exclusive Class Intervals
Mid-Value of Frequency
Class Intervals Class Intervals (Number of Items Produced)
13.5 – 17.5 15.5 6
17.5 – 21.5 19.5 18
21.5 – 25.5 23.5 15
25.5 – 29.5 27.5 5
29.5 – 33.5 31.5 3
33.5 – 37.5 34.5 3

Example 24: Prepare a statistical table from the following weekly wages
of 100 workers (in Rs.) of Factory A:
88 23 27 28 86 96 94 93 86 99
82 24 24 55 88 99 55 86 82 36
96 39 26 54 87 100 56 84 83 86
102 48 27 26 29 100 59 83 84 48
104 46 30 29 40 101 60 89 46 49
106 33 36 30 40 103 70 90 49 50
104 36 37 40 46 108 72 24 50 60
24 39 49 46 66 107 76 96 46 67
26 78 50 44 43 46 49 99 96 68
29 67 56 99 93 48 80 102 32 51

Solution: The lowest value is 23 and the highest 105. The difference in
the highest and the lowest value is 83. If we take a class interval of 10,

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Notes nine classes would be formed. The first class would be taken as 20–30
instead of 23–33 as per the principles of classification.
Wages (Rs.) Tally Frequency
20-30 |||| |||| ||| 13
30-40 |||| |||| | 11
40-50 |||| |||| |||| ||| 18
50-60 |||| |||| 10
60-70 |||| | 6
70-80 |||| 5
80-90 |||| |||| |||| 14
90-100 |||| |||| || 12
100-110 |||| |||| | 11
Total = 100
Example 25: Present the following data of the percentage marks of 60
students in the form of a frequency table with 10 classes of equal widths,
one class being 50-59.
41 17 83 63 54 92 60 58 70 06 67 82
33 44 57 49 34 73 54 63 36 52 32 75
60 33 09 72 28 30 42 93 43 80 03 32
57 67 24 64 63 11 35 82 10 23 00 41
60 32 72 53 92 88 62 55 60 33 40 57

Solution:
Formulation of Frequency Distribution
Marks Tally Bars Frequency
0-9 |||| 4
13-19 ||| 3
20-29 ||| 3
30-39 |||| |||| 10
40-49 |||| ||| 7
50-59 |||| |||| 9
60-69 |||| |||| | 11
70-79 |||| 5
80-89 |||| 5
90-99 ||| 3
Total = 60

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 Frequency Distribution

Notes
2.9 Exercise
1. Explain the cumulative frequency distribution.
2. What is the difference between a frequency distribution and a
cumulative frequency distribution.
3. The following is the distribution of weights (in kg) of 40 persons:
Weight (in kg) No. of Persons
40 – 45 4
45 – 50 4
50 – 55 13
55 – 60 5
60 – 65 6
65 – 70 5
70 – 75 2
75 – 80 1
Total 40
(i) Determine the class marks of the class 40 – 45, 45 – 50, etc.
(ii) Construct the cumulative frequency distribution table. (Less
than type and more than type)
4. The following is the distribution of marks of 180 primary school
students of Allahabad:
Frequency Distribution Table
Marks No. of Students
Less than 20 10
20 – 25 33
25 – 30 52
30 – 35 47
35 – 40 28
40 – 45 6
45 – 50 4
Total 180

Construct a cumulative frequency distribution table. (Less than type)
5. In a study of diabetic patients, the following data are obtained.

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Notes Frequency Distribution Table

Age (in years) No. of Patients
10 – 20 6
20 – 30 12
30 – 40 28
40 – 50 18
50 – 60 10
60 – 70 4
Construct a cumulative frequency table, less than type and more than
type for the above data.
6. Make a frequency table for the following cumulative frequency
distribution table:
Marks No. of Students
Less than 10 2
Less than 20 8
Less than 30 12
Less than 40 19
Less than 50 31
Less than 60 42
Less than 70 60
Less than 80 75
Less than 90 88
Less than 100 90
7. The following cumulative frequency distribution table shows the
ages of people living in a locality.
Cumulative Frequency Distribution Table
Age (in years) No. of Persons
Above 108 0
Above 96 7
Above 84 9
Above 72 11
Above 60 26
Above 48 164
Above 36 433
Above 24 815
Above 12 1032
Above 0 1130

Construct a frequency table.
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 Frequency Distribution

8. In a study of diabetic patients, the following data are obtained. Notes

Frequency Distribution Table
Age (in years) No. of Patients
10 – 20 3
20 – 30 18
30 – 40 25
40 – 50 20
50 – 60 15
60 – 70 9

Construct a cumulative frequency table, less than type and more than
type for the above data.
9. Make a frequency table for the following cumulative frequency
distribution table:
Marks No. of Students
Less than 10 2
Less than 20 8
Less than 30 12
Less than 40 19
Less than 50 31
Less than 60 42
Less than 70 60
Less than 80 75
Less than 90 88
Less than 100 90
10. The following cumulative frequency distribution table shows the
ages of people living in a locality.
Cumulative Frequency Distribution Table
Age (in years) No. of Persons
Above 108 0
Above 96 7
Above 84 9
Above 72 11
Above 60 26
Above 48 164

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Notes Above 36 433

Above 24 815
Above 12 1032
Above 0 1130

Construct a frequency table.
11. Present the following information in a suitable tabular form:
In 1965 out of a total of 1,750 workers of a factory, 1,200 were
members of a trade union. The number of women employed was 200
of which 175 did not belong to a trade union. In 1970 the number
of union workers increased to 1,580, of which 1,290 were men. On
the other hand, the number of non-union workers fell down to 208,
of which 180 were men. In 1975, there were 1,800 employees who
belonged to a trade union and 50 who did not belong to a trade
union. Of all the employees in 1975, 300 were women of whom
only 8 did not belong to a trade union.
12. In a sample study about the coffee habits in two towns, the following
data were observed:
60% people were males,
Town A 40% were coffee drinkers, and
26% were male coffee drinkers.
55% people were males,
Town B 30% were coffee drinkers, and
20% were male coffee drinkers.
Tabulate the above observations.
13. From the following observations, prepare a frequency distribution
table in ascending order starting with 4000–4100 (exclusive method):
Income (in Rs.)
4252 4083 4125 4262 4103 4324 4366 4303
4201 4307 4363 4381 4256 4118 4125 4252
4472 4372 4454 4500 4425 4357 4374 4321
4942 4556 4404 4489 4325 4547

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 Frequency Distribution

14. In the annual report of a mobile oil company, it is indicated that the Notes
company drilled a total of 882 wells in 2008 and 487 in 2009. Two
types of drilling operations were conducted: Wildcat and developmental.
In 2008, a total of 40 wildcat wells and 842 developmental wells
were drilled. The comparable figures for 2009 were 46 and 441.
There were 3 possible outcomes when a well was drilled: oil, gas,
or dry hole. Of the wildcat wells drilled in 2008, 6 resulted in oil,
4 in gas, 30 in dry holes. The comparable figures for 2009 were 6,
4, and 36. Of the developmental wells drilled in 2008, 660 resulted
in oil, 77 in gas, and 105 in dry holes; the comparable figures for
2009 were 333, 44, and 64.
Present the information in the above paragraph in a formal table
giving an appropriate title.
15. The weight in grams of 50 apples, picked from a box are as follows:
110 103 89 75 98 121 110 108 93 128
185 123 113 92 86 70 126 78 139 120
129 119 105 120 100 116 85 99 114 189
205 111 141 136 123 90 115 128 160 78
90 107 81 137 75 84 104 109 87 115

Construct a frequency table with a class interval of 15 grams.

16. A portfolio contains 51 stocks whose prices are given below:
67 34 36 48 49 31 61 34
43 45 38 32 27 61 29 47
36 50 46 30 40 32 30 33
45 49 48 41 53 36 37 47
47 30 50 28 35 35 38 36
46 43 34 62 69 50 28 44
43 60 39
Summarize these stock prices in the form of a frequency distribution.
17. Construct a frequency distribution of the data given below, where
class interval is 4 and the mid-value of one of the classes is zero.
-8 -7 10 12 6 4 3 0 7
-4 -3 -2 2 3 4 7 5 6
10 12 9 13 11 -10 -7 1 0
5 3 2 6 10 -6 -4

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes 18. Classify the following data by taking class intervals such that their
mid-values are 17, 22, 27, 32, and so on:
30 42 30 54 40 48 15 17 51
42 25 41 30 27 42 36 28 26
37 54 44 31 36 40 36 22 30
31 19 48 16 42 32 21 22 46
33 41 21

19. Following are the number of two wheelers sold by a dealer during
eight weeks of six working days each.
13 19 22 14 13 16 19 21
23 11 27 25 17 17 13 20
23 17 26 20 24 15 20 21
23 17 29 17 19 14 20 20
10 22 18 25 16 23 19 23
21 17 18 24 21 20 19 26
(i) Group these figures into a table having the classes 10–12,
13–15, 16–18, ..., and 28–30.
(ii) Convert the distribution of part (i) into a corresponding frequency
distribution and also a cumulative frequency distribution.
20. Of the 1,125 students studying in a co-ed college during a year,
720 were Hindus, 628 were boys, and 440 were science students;
the number of Hindu boys was 392, that of boys studying science
205 and that of Hindus students studying science 262; the number
of science students among the Hindu boys was 148. Enter these
frequencies in a three-way table with the rows representing the
Faculty (Science and Arts), and the columns representing Religion
(Hindus and Non-Hindus) and Gender (Boys and Girls and complete
the table by obtaining the frequencies of the remaining) cells.

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 L E S S O N

3
Histogram, Frequency
Polygons, Frequency
Curves and Ogives

STRUCTURE
3.1 Histogram
3.2 Bar Graph
3.3 Frequency Polygon
3.4 Pie Diagrams
3.5 Cumulative Frequency and Ogives
3.6 Miscellaneous Questions
3.7 Exercise

3.1 Histogram
Histogram is a graphical representation of a grouped frequency distribution with continu-
ous class. It consists of a set of rectangles having their heights proportional to their class
frequencies, for equal class intervals. There is no gap between two successive rectangles.
The rectangles are constructed with base as the class size and their heights representing
the frequencies.
Drawing of Histogram for Continuous Grouped Frequency Distribution
1. Along the x-axis class intervals are marked.
2. The corresponding frequencies are marked on the y-axis.
3. The rectangles are constructed with class intervals as bases and the corresponding
frequencies as heights.
Note:
If the class intervals are not continuous then they are to be converted into continuous
distribution by the following method:

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Notes Let h = (Lower limit of II class interval – Upper limit of I class interval)
Then subtract h/2 from the lower limits of each class and add h/2 to the
upper limits of each class.
If the mid-points of class intervals are given, then compute the difference
between the second and first mid-point.
Let this difference = h, find h/2
Then subtract from each mid-point to get the lower limit of each class
and add h/2 to each mid-point to get upper limit of each class.
Suppose first class interval start from 20 and not from zero. We show it
on the graph by making a ‘‘kink’’ or a break on the axis.

3.2 Bar Graph

Bar graphs are the pictorial representation of data (generally grouped),
in the form of vertical or horizontal rectangular bars, where the length
of bars is proportional to the measure of data. They are also known as
bar charts. Bar graphs are one of the means of data handling in statistics.
Steps to Draw Bar Graph
In order to visually represent the data using the bar graph, we need to
follow the steps given below:
Step 1: First, decide the title of the bar graph.
Step 2: Draw the horizontal axis and vertical axis.
Step 3: Now, label the horizontal axis.
Step 4: Write the names on the horizontal axis.
Step 5: Now, label the vertical axis.
Step 6: Finalise the scale range for the given data.
Step 7: Finally, draw the bar graph that should represent each category
with their respective numbers.
Difference Between Bar Graph and Histogram
‹ In histogram there is no gap in between consecutive rectangles as
in bar graph.
‹ The width of the bar is significant in histogram. In bar graph, width
is not important at all.

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 Histogram, Frequency Polygons, Frequency Curves and Ogives

‹ In histogram the areas of the rectangles are proportional to the Notes

frequency, however if the class size of the frequencies are equal
then each of the rectangle are proportional to the frequencies.
Example 1: A survey conducted by an organisation in respect of illness
and death among the women between the ages 15 – 44 (in years) world-
wide, found the following figures (in%):
S. No. Causes Female Fatality Rate (%)
1. Reproductive health conditions 31.8
2. Neuropsychiatric conditions 25.4
3. Injuries 12.4
4. Cardiovascular conditions 4.3
5. Respiratory conditions 4.1
6. Other causes 22.0
(i) Represent the information given above graphically.
(ii) Which condition is the major cause of women’s ill health and death
worldwide?
(iii) Try to find out, any two factors which play a major role in the
cause in (ii)above being the major cause.
Solution:
(i) We draw the bar graph of the given data in the following steps:
The variable here is the causes of death and value of the variable is
female fatality rate in percentage.
1. We represent the causes of death on horizontal axis.
2. The width of the bar is not important at all but we take equal width
for all the bars and maintain equal gaps between.
3. We represent the female fatality rate on the vertical axis. The maximum
female fatality rate is 31.8%. We take scale as1 cm = 4%.
4. We draw first rectangular bar with width 1 cm and height 7.45 cm.
5. We draw second rectangular bar with a gap of 1 cm in between 1st
and 2nd bar and the height of the bar is 6.35 cm.
6. Similarly, other bars are also drawn as we have done in step 3 and

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes

(ii) Reproductive health condition is the major cause of women’s ill

health and death worldwide.
(iii) Three factors which play a major role is:
1. Number of maternity hospitals is less, where the pregnant women
get advice about delivery, etc. from qualified doctors.
2. Unwanted female child.
3. Abortion by unqualified doctors.
Example 2: The following data on the number of girls to the nearest
ten per thousand boys in different sections of the society is given below:
Section Number of Girls Per Thousand Boys
Scheduled Caste (SC) 940
Scheduled Tribe (ST) 970
Non SC/ST 920
Backward districts 950
Non-backward districts 920
Rural 930
Urban 910
(i) Represent the information above by a bar graph.
(ii) Write two conclusions you can arrive at from the graph, with
justification.
Solution:
(i) The required graph is under:

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 Histogram, Frequency Polygons, Frequency Curves and Ogives

Notes

(ii) In the graph drawn, different sections of the society are denoted along
the horizontal axis and the number of girls to the nearest ten per
thousand boys are denoted along the vertical axis, their intersection
represents 900.
Scale: 1 cm = 10 girls.
From the graph, we find that the number of girls to the nearest ten
per thousand boys are maximum in scheduled tribes, whereas they
are minimum in urban.
Example 3: The daily earnings of 50 workers are given below:
Daily Earnings 125–134 135–144 145–154 155–164 165–174 175–184
(in Rs.)
No. of Workers 2 7 10 15 10 6
Draw a histogram.
Solution: Since the given data is not continuous, so we have to convert
them into continuous frequency distribution.
Let h = lower limits of II class – upper limit of I class
h = 135 – 134 = 1
h/2 = 0.5

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Notes We subtract 0.5 from the lower limits of each class and add 0.5 to the
upper limits of each class. We get the following continuous frequency
distribution:
Daily Earnings (in thousands) No. of Workers
124.5 134.5 2
134.5 144.5 7
144.5 154.5 10
154.5 164.5 15
164.5 174.5 10
174.5 184.5 6

The graph is now plotted by taking Daily earnings on horizontal axis

and No. of workers on vertical axis.

Example 4: Construct a histogram from the following distribution of total

marks obtain by 65 students of Graduation in half yearly examination.
Marks (Mid-points) 75 80 85 90 95 100
No. of Students 7 11 25 13 6 3
Solution: The difference between the second and first mid-point
= 5 = h (say)
= 80 – 75
∴ h/2 = 5/2 = 2.5
Now subtract 2.5 from each mid-point to get the lower limits and add
2.5 to each mid-point to get the upper limits.
∴ We get the following frequency distribution:

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Marks 72.5–77.5 77.5–82.5 82.5–87.5 87.5–92.5 92.5–97.5 97.5–102.5 Notes

No. of Students 7 11 25 13 6 3

3.3 Frequency Polygon

It is a line graph of class frequency plotted against class mark. It can
be obtained by two methods: (i) By using Histogram (ii) Without using
Histogram:
Steps of Drawing Frequency Polygon (By Using Histogram)
It can be obtained by connecting mid-points of the top of the rectangles
of a histogram.
Step I: Draw the histogram from the given data.
Step II: Obtain the mid-points of the upper horizontal sides of each rectangle.
Step III: Join these mid-points of the adjacent rectangles by dotted lines.
Step IV: Obtain the mid-points of two class intervals of zero frequency,
one adjacent to the first on its left and another adjacent to the last, on
its right.
Step V: Complete the polygon by joining the mid-points of first and last
class intervals to the mid-point of the imagined class intervals adjacent
to them.
Example 5: For the following data, draw a histogram and a frequency
polygon.
Age (in years) 0 – 6 6 – 12 12 – 18 18 – 24 24 – 30 30 – 36 36 – 42
No. of Persons 6 11 25 35 18 12 6

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Notes Solution: First, we draw the histogram of the given data. Then we will
find the mid- points of the top of rectangles. Join these mid-points by
dotted straight lines. Complete the polygon by joining the mid-points of
first and last class intervals to the mid-points of imagined class intervals,
with zero frequency, adjacent to them.

Example 6: For the following data, draw a histogram and a frequency

polygon.
Marks 20–30 30–40 40–50 50–60 60–70 70–80 80–90 90–100
No. of Students 5 12 6 20 18 10 16 3
Solution: First, we draw a histogram from the given data, then join the
mid-points of the top of the rectangles by dotted straight lines. Complete
the polygon by joining the mid-points of first and last class intervals to
the mid-point of imagined class intervals adjacent to them.

Steps of Drawing Frequency Polygon, Without Using Histograms

Step I: Calculate the class marks (mid points of class intervals) x1, x2, …,
xn of the given class intervals. Class mark = (Upper limit + Lower limit)/2
Step II: Mark x1, x2, …, xn along x-axis.
Step III: Mark the frequencies f1, f2, … , fn along y-axis.
Step IV: Plot the points (x1, f1), (x2, f2), …, (xn, fn).

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Step V: Join the points (x1, f1), (x2, f2), …, (xn, fn) by the line segments. Notes
Step VI: Take two class intervals of zero frequency, one at the beginning
and other at the end. Obtain their mid-points.
Step VII: Complete the frequency polygon by joining the mid-points of
the first and the last intervals to the mid-point of the imagined classes
adjacent to them.
Example 7: Construct a frequency polygon for the following data:
Age (in years) 0–4 4–8 8–12 12–16 16–20 20–24 24–28 28–32 32–36
No. of Persons 1 3 6 8 10 8 5 3 2
Solution:
Age Class-Marks No. of Persons
0 – 4 2 1
4 – 8 6 3
8 – 12 10 6
12 – 16 14 8
16 – 20 18 10
20 – 24 22 8
24 – 28 26 5
28 – 32 30 3
32 – 36 34 2

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

Example 8: The following table gives the distribution of I.Q.’s (Intelli-

gence quotients) of 60 pupils of Hindu College.

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Notes I.Q. 125.5– 118.5– 111.5– 104.5– 97.5– 90.5– 83.5– 76.5– 69.5– 62.5–
132.5 125.5 118.5 111.5 104.5 97.5 90.5 83.5 76.5 69.5
No. of 1 3 6 8 10 8 5 3 2 1
Pupils
Construct a frequency polygon for above data.
Solution:
I.Q. Class-Marks No. of Pupils
125.5 – 132.5 129 1
118.5 – 125.5 122 3
111.5 – 118.5 115 4
104.5 – 111.5 108 6
97.5 – 104.5 101 10
90.5 – 97.5 94 12
83.5 – 90.5 87 15
76.5 – 83.5 80 5
69.5 – 76.5 73 3
62.5 – 69.5 66 1

Example 9: The runs scored by two teams A and B on the first 60 balls
in a cricket match are given below:
Number of Balls Team A Team B
1 – 6 2 5
7 – 12 1 6
13 – 18 8 2

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Number of Balls Team A Team B Notes

19 – 24 9 10
25 – 30 4 5
31 – 36 5 6
37 – 42 6 3
43 – 48 10 4
49 – 54 6 8
55 – 60 2 10
Represent the data of both the teams on the same graph by frequency
polygons.
Solution: First, we obtain the class marks as given in the following table:
Number of Runs
Number of Balls Class Marks Team A Team B
1 – 6 3.5 2 5
7 – 12 9.5 1 6
13 – 18 15.5 8 2
19 – 24 21.5 9 10
25 – 30 27.5 4 5
31 – 36 33.5 5 6
37 – 42 39.5 6 3
43 – 48 45.5 10 4
49 – 54 51.5 6 8
55 – 60 57.5 2 10
We represent class marks along x-axis on a suitable scale and frequencies
(number of runs) along y-axis on a suitable scale.
To obtain the frequency polygon of Team A, we plot the points (3.5, 2),
(9.5, 1), (15.5, 8), (21.5, 9), (27.5, 4), (33.5, 5), (39.5, 6), (45.5, 10),
(51.5, 6) and (57.5, 2) and join these points by the line segments.
To obtain the frequency polygon of Team B, we plot the points (3.5, 5),
(9.5, 6), (15.5, 2), (21.5, 10), (27.5, 5), (33.5, 6), (39.5, 3), (45.5, 4),
(51.5, 8) and (57.5, 10).
The two frequency polygons are as shown below:

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Notes

3.4 Pie Diagrams

A pie chart is a type of graph that represents the data in the circular graph.
The slices of pie show the relative size of the data, and it is a type of
pictorial representation of data. A pie chart requires a list of categorical
variables and numerical variables. Here, the term “pie” represents the
whole, and the “slices” represent the parts of the whole.
Example 10: Represent the following data by a pie diagram.
Cities Mumbai Delhi Kanpur London Paris
Infant Mortality 174 168 220 93 66
Solution: These values are converted into corresponding degrees in the
circle taking total infant mortality 721 as equal to 360º. The calculation
is shown in the table.
Cities Infant Mortality Angles (in degrees)
Mumbai 174 174
× 360= 86.88= 87º 
721
Delhi 168 168
× 360= 83.88= 84º
721
Kanpur 220 220
× 360= 109.84= 110º
721
London 93 93
× 360= 46.43= 46º
721
Paris 66 66
× 360= 32.95= 33º
721
Total 712 360º
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Notes

Example 11: The following table shows the numbers of hours spent by
a child on different events on a working day.
Activity No. of Hours
School 6
Sleep 8
Playing 2
Study 4
T. V. 1
Others 3
Represent the adjoining information on a pie chart.
Solution: The central angles for various observations can be calculated as:
Activity No. of Hours Measure of Central Angle
School 6 (6/24 × 360)° = 90°
Sleep 8 (8/24 × 360)° = 120°
Playing 2 (2/24 × 360)° = 30°
Study 4 (4/24 × 360)° = 60°
T. V. 1 (1/24 × 360)° = 15°
Others 3 (3/24 × 360)° = 45°

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Notes
3.5 Cumulative Frequency and Ogives
Cumulative frequency curve or an ogive is the graphical representation
of a cumulative frequency distribution.
There are two methods of constructing an ogive.
(i) Less than method (ii) More than method

3.5.1 Less than Method

Step I: If the frequency is in inclusive form convert it into exclusive form.
Step II: Construct a cumulative frequency table.
Step III: Mark upper class limits along x-axis.
Step IV: Mark the corresponding cumulative frequency along y-axis.
Step V: Plot the points and join them by a free hand curve.
Step VI: The lower limit of the first class interval becomes the upper
limit of the imagined class with frequency 0. Join the imagined point
(lower limit of first, 0) with the first point of the curve and so on.
Now, we get the required curve called an ogive.
Example 12: Draw a cumulative frequency curve (or an ogive) for the
following data.
Class Interval 0 – 8 8 – 16 16 – 24 24 – 32 32 – 40 40 – 48
Frequency 8 12 20 16 8 10
Solution: We first prepare the cumulative frequency distribution table.
Class-Interval Frequency Cumulative Frequency (Less than Type)
0 – 8 8 8
8 – 16 12 20
16 – 24 20 40
24 – 32 16 56
32 – 40 8 64
40 – 48 10 74

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Notes

Mark the upper class limits along x-axis and the cumulative frequency
along y-axis. Thus we plot the points (8, 8), (16, 20), (24, 40), (32, 56),
(40, 64) and (48, 74). Join these points by a free hand curve. Complete the
curve by joining the first point of the curve to the point (lower limit, 0).
Example 13: Draw a cumulative frequency curve (or an ogive) for the
following data:
Class Interval 0 – 19 20 – 39 40 – 59 60 – 79 80 – 99 100–119
Frequency 4 14 19 26 17 12
Solution: We first convert the class limits into true class limits and fre-
quency distribution is converted into cumulative frequency distribution.
Consider one imaginary point (lower limit of first class, 0).
Class Interval Frequency True Class Limits Cumulative Frequency
0 – 19 4 –0.5 – 19.5 4
20 – 39 14 19.5 – 39.5 18
40 – 59 19 39.5 – 59.5 37
60 – 79 26 59.5 – 79.5 63
80 – 99 17 79.5 – 99.5 80
100 – 119 12 99.5 – 119.5 92

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Notes

3.5.2 More than Method

To construct an ogive by more than type method, we apply the following
steps:
Step I: Convert the frequency distribution into more than type cumulative
frequency distribution by subtracting the frequency of each class from
total frequency.
Step II: Mark the lower class limits on x-axis.
Step III: Mark the corresponding cumulative frequency on y-axis.
Step IV: Plot the points and join them by a free hand curve.
Example 14: The frequency distribution of scores obtained by 230 can-
didates in a medical entrance test is as follows:
Scores 400– 450– 500– 550– 600– 650– 700– 750–
450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800
Number of Candidates 20 35 40 32 24 27 18 34

Draw cumulative frequency curve by more than method.

Solution: More than method: Let us first prepare the cumulative fre-
quency table by more than method as given below:
Scores Number of Candidates Scores More Than Cumulative Frequency
400 – 450 20 400 230
450 – 500 35 450 210

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Scores Number of Candidates Scores More Than Cumulative Frequency Notes

500 – 550 40 500 175
550 – 600 32 550 135
600 – 650 24 600 103
650 – 700 27 650 79
700 – 750 18 700 52
750 – 800 34 750 34
Mark the lower class limits on x-axis and cumulative frequency along
y-axis.
Plot the points (400, 230), (450, 210), (500, 175), (550, 135), (600, 103),
(650, 79), (700, 61), (750, 27) and an imagined point (800, 0)

3.6 Miscellaneous Questions

Example 15: An advertising company kept an account of response letters
received each day over a period of 50 days. The observations were:
0 2 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
2 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 1 3 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
2 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 2 0

Construct a frequency table and draw a bar diagram to present the data.
Solution: The frequency distribution of letters received are shown in
Table below. Figure depicts a frequency bar diagram for the number
of letters received during a period of 50 days presented in Table below:

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Notes Number of Letters Number of Days

Received Tally (Frequency)
0 |||| |||| |||| |||| ||| 23
1 |||| |||| |||| || 17
2 |||| || 7
3 || 2
4 0
5 | 1
Total = 50

Example 16: The profits before tax of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. are
given below:
Year Profits before Tax (Rs. Millions)
1981-82 516.5
1982-83 604.2
1983-84 750.3
1984-85 1136.9
1985-86 1503.3
Represent the data by a bar diagram.
Solution: The above data can be represented by a simple bar diagram:

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Notes

Example 17: The following figures relate to the cost of construction of

a house in Delhi:
Items Expenditure
Cement 20 %
Steel 18 %
Bricks 10 %
Timber 15 %
Labour 25 %
Miscellaneous 12 %
Represent the data by a suitable diagram.
Solution:
Items Expenditure
Cement 20 × 3.6 = 72
Steel 18 × 3.6 = 64.8
Bricks 10 × 3.6 = 36
Timber 15 × 3.6 = 54
Labour 25 × 3.6 = 90
Miscellaneous 12 × 3.6 = 43.2

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Notes

Example 18: Represent the following data by means of a histogram:

Daily Wages (in Rupees) Number of Workers
110-115 7
115-120 19
120-125 27
125-130 15
130-140 12
140-160 12
160-180 8
Solution: In the given data, the wage intervals are not of equal width.
In a histogram, each bar should represent an interval of the same width
to accurately compare frequencies. The first few intervals (110-115,
115-120, 120-125, 125-130) have a width of 5 rupees. The subsequent
intervals (130-140, 140-160, 160-180) have widths of 10, 20, and 20
rupees, respectively. If you plot this data directly, the bars corresponding
to wider intervals will naturally be taller or have a larger area, even if
the frequency is lower. This distorts the visual representation, making it
harder to compare the data accurately.
To make histogram for unequal class intervals, first calculate the frequency
densities by dividing the frequencies with their respective class width.
Then plot frequency densities on y-axis and class interval on x-axis.
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Daily Wages Notes

(in Rupees) Number of Workers Frequency Density
110-115 7 7/5 = 1.4
115-120 19 19/5 = 3.8
120-125 27 27/5 = 5.4
125-130 15 15/5 = 3
130-140 12 12/10 = 1.2
140-160 12 12/20 = 0.6
160- 180 8 8/20 = 0.4

Example 19: Represent the following frequency distribution by means

of a histogram and superimpose thereon the corresponding frequency
polygon and frequency curve:
Monthly Salary
(in Rupees) Number of Employees
3000 – 4000 20
4000 – 5000 30
5000 – 6000 60
6000 – 7000 75
7000 – 8000 115
8000 – 9000 100
9000 – 10000 60
10000 – 12000 80

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Notes Example 20: Prepare a histogram from the following data and find the mode.
Marks No. of Students
0-10 4
10-20 6
20-40 14
40-50 16
50-60 14
60-70 8
70-90 16
90-100 5
Solution: Since the class intervals are unequal, we first find frequency
densities. The histogram is then plotted using frequency densities.
Class
Class Intervals Width No. of Students Frequency Density
0 10 10 4 0.4
10 20 10 6 0.6
20 40 20 14 0.7
40 50 10 16 1.6
50 60 10 14 1.4
60 70 10 8 0.8
70 90 20 16 0.8
90 100 10 5 0.5

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 Histogram, Frequency Polygons, Frequency Curves and Ogives

Example 21: Prepare a histogram and a frequency polygon from the Notes
following data.
Class Interval 0-6 6-12 12-18 18-24 24-30 30-36
Frequency 4 8 15 20 12 6
Solution:
Class Interval Frequency
-6 0 0
0 6 4
6 12 8
12 18 15
18 24 20
24 30 12
30 36 6
36 42 0

Example 22: Given below is the pretax monthly income of residents of

an Industrial Town. Draw a less than Ogive.
Pretax Income (In Rupees) Number of Residence (in 1000)
More than 7000 2
More than 6000 8
More than 5000 10
More than 4000 15
More than 3000 25
More than 2000 40
More than 1000 55
More than 0 60

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Notes Solution:
Number of Less than Cumulative
Pretax Income Residence (f) Frequency
0 1000 5 5
1000 2000 15 20
2000 3000 15 35
3000 4000 10 45
4000 5000 5 50
5000 6000 2 52
6000 7000 6 58
7000 8000 2 60

3.7 Exercise
1. A family with monthly income of Rs. 20,000 had planned the
following expenditure per month under various heads:
Heads Expenditure (in Rs. 1000)
Grocery 4
Rent 5
Education of children 5
Medicine 2
Fuel 2
Entertainment 1
Miscellaneous 1
Draw the graph for the above data.
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2. The following table gives the marks scored by 100 students in an Notes
entrance examination:
Marks No. of Students (Frequency)
0–10 4
10–20 10
20–30 16
30–40 22
40–50 20
50–60 18
60–70 8
70–80 2
3. The following table shows the number of illiterate persons in the
age group (10 – 58 years) in a town:
Age Group (in years) Number of Illiterate Persons
10–16 175
17–23 325
24–30 100
31–37 150
38–44 250
45–51 400
52–58 525
Draw a histogram to represent the above data.
4. Draw a histogram to represent the following data which shows the
monthly cost of living index at a city in a period of two years.
Cost of Living Index Number of Months
440–460 2
460–480 4
480–500 3
500–520 5
520–540 3
540–560 2
560–580 1
580–600 4

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Notes 5. Draw the histogram and frequency polygon of the following frequency
distribution of the monthly wages:
Monthly Wages (in rupees) Number of Workers
325 – 350 30
350 – 375 45
375 – 400 75
400 – 425 60
425 – 450 55
Total 245
6. Draw the frequency polygon representing the following frequency
distribution.
Class Interval Frequency
30 – 34 12
35 – 39 16
40 – 44 20
45 – 49 8
50 – 54 10
55 – 59 4
7. Construct a frequency polygon from the following data.
Score Frequency
32 – 34 13
35 – 37 10
38 – 40 20
41 – 43 16
44 – 46 12
47 – 49 8
8. Draw an ogive for the following frequency distribution of less than
method.
Marks Number of Students
0 – 10 7
10 – 20 10
20 – 30 23
30 – 40 51
40 – 50 6
50 – 60 3

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 Histogram, Frequency Polygons, Frequency Curves and Ogives

9. Represent the following data by an ogive by more than method. Notes

Group Frequency
0 – 10 4
10 – 20 4
20 – 30 7
30 – 40 10
40 – 50 12
50 – 60 8
60 – 70 5
10. Draw a cumulative frequency curve for the following frequency
distribution.
Class Interval Frequency
0 – 9 5
10 – 19 15
20 – 29 20
30 – 39 23
40 – 49 17
50 – 59 11
60 – 69 9
11. Draw an ogive (by more than method) to represent the following
data, showing the monthly cost of living index of a city.
Cost of Living Index No. of Months in a Period
340 – 350 10
350 – 360 19
360 – 370 24
370 – 380 18
380 – 390 16
390 – 400 13
12. The data shoes market share (in percentage) close by revenue of
the following companies in a particular year:

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Notes Company Market Share (in percentage)

BPL Ltd. 30
Hutchison 26
Bharti Telecom 19
Modi Telecom 12
Pacific India 5
Reliance 3
ParleG 2
Srinivas 2
Shyam Enterprises 1
Draw a pie diagram for the above data.
13. Which of the charts would you prefer to represent the following
data pertaining to the monthly income of two families and the
expenditure incurred by them?
Expenditure on Family A Family B
(Income Rs. 17,000) (Income Rs. 10,000)
Food 4000 5400
Clothing 2800 3600
House Rent 3000 3500
Education 2300 2800
Miscellaneous 3000 5000
Saving Or Deficits +1900 –300

14. The following data represent the outlays (in Rs. crore) bracket close
by heads of development.
Heads of Development Centre States
Agriculture 4765 7039
Irrigation and Flood Control 6635 11395
Energy 9995 8293
Industry And Minerals 12770 2985
Transport And Communication 12200 5120
Social Services 8216 1420
Total 54581 36252

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 Histogram, Frequency Polygons, Frequency Curves and Ogives

15. Draw a histogram and frequency polygon from the following data: Notes
Class Frequency
0-10 4
10-20 6
20-40 14
40-50 16
50-60 14
60-70 8
70-90 16
90-100 5
16. Construct a histogram from the following data:
Class Limits Frequency
9-10 16
10-11 22
11-12 45
12-13 60
13-14 50
14-15 24
15-16 10
17. The frequency distribution of marks obtained by 60 students of a
class in a college are given below:
Marks 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64
No. of Students 3 5 12 18 14 6 2
Draw a histogram for this distribution and find modal value. Draw a
cumulative frequency curve also.
18. Draw a less than Ogive from the following data:
Weekly Income (Rs.)
(Equal to or More Than) No. of Families
12,000 0
11,000 6
10,000 14
8,000 26
6,000 42
4,000 54

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Notes Weekly Income (Rs.)

(Equal to or More Than) No. of Families
3,000 62
2,000 70
1,000 80
From the graph estimate the number of families in the income range of
Rs. 24,000 and Rs. 10,500. Also, find the maximum income of the lowest
of 25% of the families.

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 UNIT - II

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 L E S S O N

4
Measures of Central
Tendency
STRUCTURE
4.1 Measures of Central Tendency
4.2 Arithmetic Mean
4.3 Median
4.4 Mode
4.5 Weighted Mean
4.6 Partition Values
4.7 Miscellaneous Questions
4.8 Exercise

4.1 Measures of Central Tendency

An average is a value which is representative of a set of data. Average value may also
be termed as measure of central tendency. There are three types of common measures of
central tendency.
(a) Arithmetic mean or average
(b) Median
(c) Mode
Properties for an Ideal Measure of Central Tendency
‹ It should be rigidly defined.
‹ It should be readily comprehensible and easy to calculate.
‹ It should be based on all the observations.
‹ It should be suitable for further mathematical treatments.
‹ It should not be affected much by fluctuations of sampling.
‹ It should not be affected much by extreme values.

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Notes
4.2 Arithmetic Mean
If x1, x2, x3, ... , xn are n numbers, then their arithmetic mean (A.M.) is
defined by.
Arithmetic Mean = x = (x + x + x + ... + x )/n
1 2 3 n

where,
x1, x2, x3, xn are the observations.
n is the number of observations.
Alternatively, one can symbolically write it as shown below:
Arithmetic Mean Formula = x = ∑xifi/∑fi
In the above equation, the symbol ∑ known as sigma. It implies sum-
mation of the values.

4.2.1 Merits and Demerits of Arithmetic Mean

Merits:
1. Rigidly defined
2. Easy to understand and calculate
3. Based upon all the observations.
4. Suitable for further mathematical calculations
5. It is least affected by fluctuations of sampling.
Arithmetic mean is sometimes referred as stable average.
Demerits:
1. It cannot be obtained by inspection nor it can be located graphically.
2. A.M. cannot be used if we are dealing with qualitative characteristic
which cannot be measured quantitatively. In this case only Median
is used.
3. Arithmetic mean cannot be obtained if a single observation is
missing or lost or is illegible unless we drop it out and compute
the arithmetic mean of the remaining values.
4. It is affected very much by extreme values (in this case it gives a
distorted pictures of the distance and does not represent the distance.)
5. It may lead to wrong conclusions if the details of the data from
which it is computed are not given.

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 Measures of Central Tendency

6. It cannot be calculated if the extreme class is open. Notes

7. In extremely asymmetrical (skewed) distance, arithmetic mean is not
a suitable measure of location.

4.2.2 Calculation of Arithmetic Mean

(a) Direct Method
Direct method is the most basic way to calculate the mean of grouped
data. The procedures for utilizing the direct technique to obtain the mean
for grouped data are outlined below:
Make a table with four columns, as shown below:
Column 1 – Class Intervals
Column 2 – Corresponding class marks, marked by xi. (In case of dis-
crete data, where class intervals are not given, then value of the data
forms the xi )
Column 3 – Frequencies (fi) in the corresponding class
Column 4 – xifi (corresponding product of column 2 and column 3)
Determine the mean using the Formula = ∑xifi/∑fi
Example 1: Find the mean of 20, 22, 25, 28, 30.
Solution:
A.M. = (20 + 22 + 25 + 28 + 30)/5
= 125/5 = 25
Example 2: Find the arithmetic mean of the following distribution:
Number (x) 8 10 15 20
Frequency (f) 5 8 8 4
fx 40 80 120 80

Solution:
Σfx = 40 + 80 + 120 + 80 = 320
f = 5 + 8 + 8 + 4 = 25
A.M. = Σfx/f = 320/25 = 12.8
(b) Shortcut Method/Assumed Mean Method
When the direct technique becomes too time-consuming, we use the as-
sumed mean method to calculate the average of a set of grouped data.

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Notes We can use the assumed mean method to detect and calculate the mean
by following the procedures listed below:
Make a table using the five columns listed below:
Column 1: Class Intervals between classes.
Column 2: Class marks, represented by xi. Assumed Mean A: Pick the
middle value from the class marks and indicate it as A.
Column 3: Determine the relevant deviations using the formula
di = xi – A.
Column 4: Frequencies (fi) of the corresponding class
Column 5: Mean of deviated values = ∑fidi/∑fi
Finally, calculate the Mean of the original data by adding the assumed
mean to the average of the deviated values.
We usually assume a value as the average in this manner (namely, A).
This value is used to calculate the deviations that the formula is based
on. In addition, the information will be presented as a frequency distri-
bution table with classifications. As a result, the formula for calculating
the mean using the assumed mean technique is:
Mean (x) = A + ∑fidi/∑fi
Example 3: Find the arithmetic mean of the following distribution:
Class 0–10 10–20 20–30 30–40 40–50
Frequency 7 8 20 10 5

Solution: Let assumed mean (A) = 25.

Class Mid-value x Frequency f x – 25 = d fd
0–10 5 7 –20 –140
10–20 15 8 –10 –80
20–30 25 20 0 0
30–40 35 10 +10 +100
40–50 45 5 +20 +100
Total Σf = 50 Σfd = –20
A.M. = 25 + [(–20)/50]
= 24.6
(c) Step-Deviation Method
The shift of origin and scale method are other name for step deviation.
When calculating the mean for grouped data, we use the step deviation
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approach to simplify the calculations. The following are the steps to take Notes
while using the step deviation method:
Make a table with five columns, as shown below:
Column 1: Class intervals.
Column 2: Corresponding class marks, represented by x i. Take the middle
value from the class marks and indicate it as A.
Column 3: Corresponding frequencies (fi) in the next column.
Column 4: Determine the corresponding deviations using the formula
di = xi – A. Use the formula ui = di/h to calculate the values of ui, where
h is the class width.
Column 5: Multiply the corresponding frequencies (fi) with ui in the
next column.
The step-deviation method can be used to find the mean when the data
values are large. The formula is as follows:
Mean (x) = A + (h ∑fiui/∑fi)
Example 4: Find the arithmetic mean of the data given in example 3 by
step deviation method
Solution: Let a = 25
x – a
Class Mid-value (x) Frequency (f) u = fu
h
0–10 5 7 –2 –14
10–20 15 8 –1 –8
20–30 25 20 0 0
30–40 35 10 +1 +10
40–50 45 5 +2 +10
Total Σf = 50 Σfu = –2
A.M. = 25 + (10*(_2)/50)
= 24.6

4.3 Median
Median is defined as the measure of the central unit when they are ar-
ranged in ascending or descending order of magnitude.

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Notes Median = ((n + 1)/2)th term if given data set has odd number of values
= average of (n/2)th and ((n/2)+1)th observation if data set is even.
Steps for calculating the Median
Step 1: Sort your observations into ascending or descending order.
Step 2: The median is the middle observation if the number of observa-
tions is odd, or the average of the two middle observations if the number
of observations is even.

4.3.1 Merits and Demerits of Median

Merits:
1. It is rigidly defined.
2. Easily calculated and understand. In some cases, it can be located
merely by inspections.
3. It is not at all affected by extreme values.
4. It can be calculated for distributions with open-end classes.
5. When data is qualitative in nature, median is the only way to find
average.
Demerits:
1. In case of even number of observations, it is not obtained exactly
but is estimated by taking the mean of two middle values.
2. It is not based on all observations. (It is insensitive)

4.3.2 Determining Median graphically

Median can be located graphically by any of the two ways:
1. Draw two ogives. Now find the point of intersection of the two
ogives. From the point of intersection, draw a perpendicular on
x-axis. The point at which the perpendicular touches the x-axis
gives the median.
2. Draw only one ogive by ‘less than method’, taking the variable on
x-axis and frequency on y-axis. Find median = size of (n/2)th item.
Locate this value on y-axis. From this point draw a perpendicular
on the less than ogive curve, parallel to x-axis. From the point
where it meets the ogive, draw another perpendicular on the x-axis.

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The point at which the perpendicular touches the x-axis gives the Notes
median.
Note: We can determine the other partition values like quartiles, deciles,
percentiles, etc. by using method 2 described above.
Example 5: Find the median of 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.
Solution: Total number of items = 7
The middle item = ((7 + 1)/2) = 4
Median = Value of the 4th unit = 10
Calculation of Median for Grouped Data
n
  − cf
2
l+ 
Median = ×h
f
where, l is the lower limit of the median class,
f is the frequency of the class,
h is the width of the median class
cf is the cumulative frequency of the class preceding the median-class and
n is total frequency of the data.
Example 6: Find the value of Median from the following data:
No. of Days for which 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Absent (less than)
No. of students 29 224 465 582 634 644 650 653 655
Solution: The given cumulative frequency distribution will first be con-
verted into ordinary frequency as under:
Class-Interval Cumulative Frequency Ordinary Frequency
0–5 29 29=29
5–10 224 224–29=195
10–15 465 465–224=241
15–20 582 582–465=117
20–25 634 634–582=52
25–30 644 644–634=10
30–35 650 650–644=6
35–40 653 653–650=3
40–45 655 655–653=2

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Notes Median = 655/2 = 327.5th item

327.5th item lies in 10-15 which is the median class.
327.5 − 224
median =
10 + ×5
241
= 12.147

4.4 Mode
The mode is that value of the observation in the series which occurs the
largest number of times or which has greatest frequency. Thus, mode is
the most popular item of the series around which there is the highest
frequency density. Usually denoted by Mo.
When we speak of ‘average student’, ‘average collar size’, ‘average T-shirt
size’, ‘average shoe size’, we are referring to mode.
Mode can be calculated for ungrouped and grouped series. A distribution
may have more than one mode.
For Ungrouped Data
The mode is calculated just by inspection or by counting the number of
items. It is the value of the observation corresponding to maximum frequency.
Example 7: Find the mode of the following items: 0, 1, 6, 7, 2, 3, 7,
6, 6, 2, 6, 0, 5, 6, 0.
Solution: As 6 occurs 5 times and no other item occurs 5 or more than
5 times, hence the mode is 6.
For Grouped Data
To calculate the mode, we first ensure that it is continuous exclusive
series having equal class intervals. By inspection locate the modal class.
The modal class is one having maximum frequency. The mode is then
given by
f1 − f 0
Mo =
l+ ×h
2 f1 − f 0 − f 2

where l is the lower limit of the modal class, f0 is the frequency of the
modal class, h is the width of the class, f1 is the frequency before the
modal class and f2 is the frequency after the modal class.

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Note: Notes
1. In moderately skewed or asymmetrical distribution, when the values
of any two averages is given then the third average can be obtained
using the following empirical formula:
Empirical formula = Mean – Mode = 3 (Mean – Median)
2. Mode is used when the most typical value of a distribution is desired.
For example, mode is used to find average amount of money spend
by students per month, average collar size, average shoe size, etc.

4.4.1 Merits and Demerits of Mode

Merits
1. It is simple and easy to understand.
2. In discrete series, mode can be located even by inspection.
3. It is not unduly affected by extreme values.
4. It can be determined graphically.
5. It can be used to describe qualitative phenomenon.
Demerits
1. Mode is sometimes ill-defined. The value of mode cannot be determined
always.
2. It is not based on all the observations of the series.
3. It is not capable of further mathematical treatment.
4. In some cases, there exist more than one mode.

4.4.2 Locating mode graphically

The value of the mode can be graphically determined in a frequency
distribution. The steps for locating the mode graphically are:
1. Draw a histogram of the given data.
2. The bar with the highest peak is the modal class bar. Now draw
two lines diagonally inside the modal class bar starting from each
upper corner of the bar to the upper corner of the adjacent bars.
3. Draw a perpendicular from the intersection of these lines to the
x-axis. The point at which the perpendicular touches the x-axis
gives the modal value.

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Notes Example 8: The heights, in cm, of 50 students are recorded. Calculate

mode.
Height (in cm) 125-130 130-135 135-140 140-145 145-150
Number of Students 7 14 10 10 9
Solution:
Here, the maximum frequency is 14 and the corresponding class is 130-
135. So, 130-135 is the modal class such that
l = 130, h = 5, f0 = 14, f1 = 7, f2 = 10
mode = 130 + [14 – 7/(14 – 7) + (14 – 10)]*5 = 133.18
Hence, the modal height = 133.18

4.5 Weighted Mean

In case of arithmetic mean, we suppose that all the items in the distri-
bution have equal importance. This is not actually so. Some of the items
in a distribution may be more important than others. Then in such cases,
proper weightage is given to various items. The weights attached to each
item is proportional to the importance of the item in the distribution.
Let wi be the weight attached to the item xi, i = 1, 2,…… n
then,
Weighted arithmetic mean or weighted mean is = Σwi xi/Σwi
Weighted mean gives the result equal to the simple mean if the weights
assigned to each of the items are equal. If smaller weights are given to
smaller items and larger weights to larger items then it results in high-
er value than simple mean. If the weights attached to larger items are
smaller and those attached to smaller items are larger than it results in
smaller value than the simple mean.

4.6 Partition Values

Partitions values are positional measures just like median and are those
values of the variate which divide the series into a number of equal parts.
The most common partition values besides median are quartiles, deciles
and percentiles which divide the series into four, ten and hundred equal

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parts respectively. All these values can be determined in the same way Notes
as median. The only difference is their location.

4.6.1 Quartiles
The values of a variate which divide the series into four equal parts are
called quartiles. First arrange the data in ascending or descending order.
We know that three points are required to divide the data into four equal
parts, so we have three quartiles, denoted by Q1, Q2 and Q3.
The first quartile (Q1), also known as lower quartile is that value of the
variate below which there are 25% of the observations and above which
there are 75% of the observations.
The second quartile (Q2), also known as middle quartile or median is
that value of the variate which divides the series into two equal parts i.e.
50% of the observations are below it 50% of the observations above it.
The third quartile (Q3), also known as upper quartile is that value of the
variate below which there are 75% of the observations and above which
there are 25% of the observations.
We see that Q1 < Q2 < Q3
Computation of Quartiles
In case of individual series or discrete series
First arrange the data into ascending or descending order of magnitude.
Now
th
 n +1 
Q1 = value of   item in the series
 4 
th
 2 ( n + 1) 
Q2 = value of   item in the series
 4 
th
 3 ( n + 1) 
Q3 = value of   item in the series
 4 

In case of continuous series

We first identify the quartile class. The computation of quartiles in case
of grouped data is done exactly in the same manner as done in the case
of median. The formula for calculating quartiles are:

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Notes n
  − cf
4
l+ 
Q1 = ×h
f

 2n 
  − cf
4
l+ 
Q2 = ×h
f

 3n 
  − cf
4
l+ 
Q3 = ×h
f

where,
l = lower limit of the quartile class
cf = cumulative frequency of the class prior to the quartile class
f = frequency of the quartile class
h = width of the quartile class
n = total number of observations in the distribution
Note: Q2 is same as the median

4.6.2 Deciles
The values of a variate that divides the series into ten equal parts are
called deciles. Since nine points are required to divide the arranged data
into ten equal parts, there are 9 deciles denoted by D1, D2,….., D9. Each
part contains 10% of the data.
Computation of deciles in case of individual series or discrete series
The general formula of jth decile is
th
 j ( n + 1) 
Dj = value of   item in the series
 10 
where j = 1, 2,…., 9

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In case of grouped series Notes

The formula for jth decile is
 jn 
  − cf
10
l+ 
Dj = ×h
f

where j = 1, 2,…., 9
where cf is the cumulative frequency preceding the jth decile class. Other
notations have usual meaning.

4.6.3 Percentile
The value of the variate which divide the series into 100 equal parts are
called percentiles. Since ninety nine points are required to divide the
data into 100 equal parts, there are 99 percentile values denoted by Pj
(j = 1, 2,…..,99). Each percentile contains 1% of the total number of
observations.
Computation of percentiles
In case of discrete or individual series
The formula for jth percentile is
th
 j ( n + 1) 
Pj = value of   item in the series
 100 
where j = 1, 2,…., 9
In case of continuous series
The formula for the jth percentile is
 jn 
  − cf
 100 
Pj =
l+ ×h
f

where j = 1, 2,…., 99
cf is the cumulative frequency preceding the jth percentile class.

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Notes Example 9: The data set given below has 19 observations, calculate all
three quartiles.
Solution: First of all, we need to sort this data in the ascending order
as given below;
Here total observation count N = 19, now we will calculate the quartiles
using their respective formulas given above in this section.
Q1 = 1 * (19+1)/4 = 20/4 = 5 (i.e. 5th observation) = 33
Q2 = 2 * (19+1)/4 = 40/4 = 10 (i.e. 10th observation) = 48
Q3 = 3 * (19+1)/4 = 60/4 = 15 (i.e. 15th observation) = 61
Example 10: Below table shows the scores (out of 100) in a mathemat-
ics test for 30 students in a class. Calculate the 1st, 4th and 5th decile
values for given data.

Roll No. Test Score Roll No. Test Score

1 64 16 44
2 93 17 71
3 66 18 50
4 75 19 47
5 97 20 88
6 92 21 45
7 62 22 74
8 49 23 82
9 67 24 57
10 63 25 61
11 78 26 66
12 56 27 95
13 58 28 78
14 99 29 77
15 86 30 82

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 Measures of Central Tendency

Solution: Notes
The very first step that we have to do is to arrange the given data in the
ascending order based on test scores as shown below:

Roll No. Test Score Roll No. Test Score

16 44 17 71
21 45 22 74
19 47 4 75
8 49 29 77
18 50 11 78
12 56 28 78
24 57 23 82
13 58 30 82
25 61 15 86
7 62 20 88
10 63 6 92
1 64 2 93
3 66 27 95
26 66 5 97
9 67 14 99
Here total number of observations, N = 30
Now, using the decile formula discussed above in this section, deciles
will be calculated as follows:
D 1 = 1× (30+1)/10 = 31/10 = 3.1
= 3rd observation + 0.1× (4th observation – 3rd observation)
= 47 + 0.1× (49-47) = 47.2
D4 = 4× (30+1)/10 = 124/10 = 12.4
= 12th observation + 0.4× (13th observation – 12th observation)
= 64 + 0.4× (66-64) = 64.8

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Notes D5 = 5 × (30 + 1)/10 = 155/10 = 15.5

= 15th observation + 0.5 × (16th observation – 15th observation)
= 67 + 0.5 × (71 – 67) = 69
Example 11: The heights (in cm) of 50 first year students of a college
are recorded and shared in the table below. Calculate the heights at 30th,
46th and the 90th percentile values from the given distribution.

Solution: First of all we have to arrange this data set in the ascending
order of magnitude.

Here N = 50, now using the percentile formula we will calculate P30,
P46 & P90
P30 = 30 × (50 + 1)/100 = 1530/100 = 15.3
= 15th observation + 0.3 × (16th observation – 15th observation)
= 157.7 + 0.3 × (158.1 – 157.7) = 157.82
P46 = 46 × (50 + 1)/100 = 2346/100 = 23.46
= 23rd observation + 0.46 × (24th observation – 23rd observation)
= 164.1 + 0.46 × (164.7 – 164.1) = 164.38
P90 = 90 × (50 + 1)/100 = 4590/100 = 45.9
= 45th observation + 0.9 × (46th observation – 45th observation)
= 182.6 + 0.9 × (182.7 – 182.6) = 182.6
Therefore, the heights (in cm) at 30th, 46th, and 90th percentile values
are 157.82, 164.38, and 182.69 respectively.

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Notes
4.7 Miscellaneous Questions
Example 12: The following data give an actual distribution, obtained
by tossing ten coins 1024 times and recording the number of heads that
appeared on each toss. What is the average number of heads per toss?
Number of Heads Frequency
0 1
1 16
2 42
3 126
4 199
5 253
6 209
7 118
8 53
9 4
10 3
Solution: Computation of average number of heads per toss.
Number of Heads Frequency mf
(m) (f)
0 1 0
1 16 16
2 42 84
3 126 378
4 199 796
5 253 1265
6 209 1254
7 118 826
8 53 424
9 4 36
10 3 30
n = 1024 Σmf = 5109
Σmf 5109
=
Arithmetic average a = = 5 heads per toss approx.
n 1024
Thus, the average number of heads per toss is 5.

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Notes Example 13: The following table gives the population of males at dif-
ferent age-groups of the U.K. and India at the time of a census.
U.K.
Age-Group (Lakhs) India (Lakhs)
0-5 18 214
5-10 19 258
10-15 20 222
15-20 18 157
20-25 16 145
25-30 14 161
30-40 27 257
40-50 25 184
50-60 19 120
Above 60 17 100
Compare the average age of males in the two countries, and account for
difference, if any.
Solution:
U.K. India
Population Population
of males of males
Age-group Mid-Values d= x-a in U.K. in India
(m) (x) = x-27.5 (f) fd (f) fd
0-5 2.5 -25 18 -450 214 -5350
5-10 7.5 -20 19 -380 258 -5160
10-15 12.5 -15 20 -300 222 -3330
15-20 17.5 -10 18 -180 157 -1570
20-25 22.5 -5 16 -80 145 -725
25-30 27.5 0 14 0 161 0
30-40 35.0 7.5 27 202.5 257 1927
40-50 45.0 17.5 25 437.5 184 3220
50-60 55.0 27.5 19 522.5 120 3300
Above 60 65.0 37.5 17 637.5 100 3750
n=193 Σfd = n=1818 Σfd =
410 -3937

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The average age of males in the U.K. is calculated as follows: Notes

Σfd 410
x = a+ = 27.5 + = 27.5 + 2.12 = 29.62 years
n 193
The average age of males in the India is calculated as follows:
Σfd −3937.5
x = a+ = 27.5 + = 27.5 − 2.17 = 25.33 years
n 1818
Thus the average age of males in U.K. is higher than the average age
of males in India.
Example 14: Find the average wage of a labourer from the following table:
Wage (in Rupees) Above No. of Labourers
300 650
310 500
320 425
330 375
340 300
350 275
360 250
370 100
Solution: We have a cumulative frequency distribution table. To find the
average wage, we need to convert this cumulative frequency distribution
into a simple frequency distribution.
Step 1: Find the class intervals
To determine the class intervals, we need to find the difference between
consecutive values in the “Wage (in Rupees) above” column. For example,
310 – 300 = 10, 320 – 310 = 10 and so on. So, the class interval is 10.
Step 2: Determine the frequency for each class
The frequency of the first class (300-310) is the total number of labour-
ers (650) minus the number of labourers earning more than 310 (500).
The frequency of the second class (310-320) is the number of labourers
earning more than 310 (500) minus the number of labourers earning
more than 320 (425).

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Notes Wage (in Rupees) Above No. of Labourers

300-310 650 - 500 = 150
310-320 500 - 425 = 75
320-330 425 - 375 = 50
330-340 375 - 300 = 75
340-350 300 - 275 = 25
350-360 275 - 250 = 25
360-370 250 - 100 = 150
370 and above 100
Step 3: Calculate the average wage
Now that we have a simple frequency distribution, we can calculate the
average wage.
Wage (in No. of Mid-Point of
Rupees) Labourers the Classes x =
Above (f) (m) m-345 dx=x/10 fdx
300-310 150 305 -40 -4 -600
310-320 75 315 -30 -3 -225
320-330 50 325 -20 -2 -100
330-340 75 335 -10 -1 -75
340-350 25 345 0 0 0
350-360 25 355 10 1 25
360-370 150 365 20 2 300
370 and 100 375 30 3 300
above
n=650 Σfdx=
-375
The average wage of a labourer is calculated as follows:
Σf .d −375
x= a+ xi = 345 + ×10 = 345 + 5.77 = 339.23 rupees.
n 650
Example 15: The following table indicates the increase in cost of living
over July 1972 for a working-class family as at 1st January 1975 and
the weights assigned to various groups.

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Group Percentage Increase Weights Notes

Food 29 7.5
Rent 54 2.0
Clothing 97.5 1.5
Fuel and Light 75 1.0
Other items 75 0.5
Find out the weighted average of the increase in cost of living.
Solution: To find the weighted average of the increase in the cost of
living, we need to multiply each percentage increase by its corresponding
weight, sum up these products, and then divide the total by the sum of
the weights.
Percentage Increase Weights
Group (p) (w) pw
Food 29 7.5 217.50
Rent 54 2.0 108.00
Clothing 97.5 1.5 146.25
Fuel and 75 1.0 75.00
Light
Other items 75 0.5 37.50
Σw = 12.5 Σpw = 584.25

∑ pw 584.25
Weighted average = = = 46.74%
∑w 12.5
Example 16: The arithmetic mean, the mode and the median of a group
of 75 observations were calculated to be 27, 34 and 29 respectively. It
was later discovered that one observation was wrongly read as 43 instead
of the correct value 53. Examine to what extent the calculated values of
the three averages will be affected by the discovery of this error.
Solution:
1. The arithmetic mean is calculated as the sum of all observations
divided by the number of observations.
Initially:

​
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Notes

Incorrect: ΣX = 75 × 27 = 2025
Correct: ΣX = 2025 − 43 + 53 = 2035

Correct
2. Mode: The mode is the value that appears most frequently in the
data set. Since correcting the observation from 43 to 53 changes
just one value, and if neither 43 nor 53 was the mode, the mode
remains unchanged at 34.
3. Median: The median is the middle value when the data set is
ordered. Given there are 75 observations, the median is the 38th
observation. If the incorrect value of 43 did not alter the central
position (median), changing it to 53 would have no effect. However,
if 43 was close to the median, this correction might slightly change
the median, but it’s unlikely given the median was 29, and this
correction involves numbers larger than the median.
The discovery of the error has a minimal impact on the arithmetic mean
and likely no impact on the mode or median.
Example 17: Find the weighted arithmetic mean of first n natural num-
bers who weights are equal to corresponding numbers.
Solution: To find the weighted arithmetic mean of the first n natural
numbers where the weights are equal to the corresponding numbers, you
can use the following approach:
The first n natural numbers are 1,2, 3…,n.
The weights for these numbers are also 1,2, 3…,n.
For the first n natural numbers,
1. The weighted sum is: ∑(i.i) = ∑ i2  
2. The sum of squares of the first n natural numbers is given by:
∑ i2 = n(n + 1)(2n + 1)/6
Calculate the Total Weight:
The total weight is: ∑i = n(n + 1)/2

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Calculate the Weighted Mean: Notes

Weighted Mean = Weighted Sum/Total Weight
= n(n + 1)(2n + 1)/6/n(n + 1)2
= 2n + 1 /3
Hence, the weighted arithmetic mean of the first n natural numbers where
the weights are equal to the corresponding numbers is 2n+1/3.
Example 18: Calculate the median from the data given below:
Class Interval 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39
Frequency 8 15 18 30 16 12 6
Solution:
To find the median, we’ll follow these steps:
1. Calculate the cumulative frequency for each class interval:
‹ For 5-9: 8
‹ For 10-14: 8+15=23
‹ For 15-19: 23+18=41
‹ For 20-24: 41+30=71
‹ For 25-29: 71+16=87
‹ For 30-34: 87+12=99
‹ For 35-39: 99+6=105
2. Identify the Median Class: The total number of observations (N)
is 105. Hence, Median position=N/2=105/2=52.5.
3. Locate the median class by finding the cumulative frequency just
greater than 52.5: The cumulative frequency just greater than 52.5
is 71, which corresponds to the class interval 20-24. So, the median
class is 20-24.
4. Apply the Median Formula:
The formula for the median in grouped data is:
N
  −C
2
L+ 
Median = ×h
f

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Notes where:
L = Lower boundary of the median class = 20
N = Total number of observations = 105
C = Cumulative frequency of the class before the median class = 41
f = Frequency of the median class = 30
h = Class width of the median class = 24 – 20 + 1 = 5
Substitute the values in the formula
52.5 − 41
Median= 20 + ×5 = 21.92
30
Example 19: Find the missing frequency from the following distribution
if median is 35 and N = 170.
Variable 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70
Frequency 10 20 - 40 - 25 15
Solution:
To find the missing frequencies (say f1 and f2), we’ll follow these steps:
1. Determine the Median Class:
The median is given as 35, which falls in the class interval 30-40.
2. Calculate Cumulative Frequencies:
Calculate cumulative frequencies up to the median class:
‹ Cumulative frequency up to 0-10: 10
‹ Cumulative frequency up to 10-20: 10+20=30
‹ Cumulative frequency up to 20-30: 30+f1
‹ Cumulative frequency up to 30-40: 30+f1+40
Let’s denote the cumulative frequency just before the median class by
C. So, C=30+f1.
1. The Median Formula:
N
  −C
2
L+ 
Median = ×h
f

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where: Notes
L = Lower boundary of the median class = 30
N = Total number of observations = 170
C = Cumulative frequency of the class before the median class = 30+f1.
f = Frequency of the median class = 40
h = Class width = 10
The median is given as 35, so:
 170 
  − ( 30 + f1 )
 2 
35 =
30 + ×10
40
Simplify this equation,
35 = 30+(85−30−f1)/4)
20 = 55−f1
f1 = 55−20=35
To Find the Second Missing Frequency f2, we know that the total
frequency N = 170
10 + 20 + f1 + 40 + f2 + 25 + 15 = 170
Substitute f1=35
10 + 20 + 35 + 40 + f2 + 25 + 15 = 170
145 + f2 = 170
f2 = 170 −145 = 25
The missing frequencies are: f1 = 35 and f2 = 25.
Example 20: Calculate median from the following data:
Mid-value 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85
Frequency 5 9 13 21 20 15 8 3
Solution: To calculate the median from the given data, follow these steps:
1. Determine the Class Interval
The class interval (h) can be found by observing the difference
between consecutive mid-values.
Class Interval (h) = Difference between consecutive mid-values
= 25−15 = 10
So, the class interval is 10.
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Notes 2. Calculate the Cumulative Frequency for each mid-value:

‹ Cumulative frequency up to 15: 5
‹ Cumulative frequency up to 25: 5+9=14
‹ Cumulative frequency up to 35: 14+13=27
‹ Cumulative frequency up to 45: 27+21=48
‹ Cumulative frequency up to 55: 48+20=68
‹ Cumulative frequency up to 65: 68+15=83
‹ Cumulative frequency up to 75: 83+8=91
‹ Cumulative frequency up to 85: 91+3=94
3. Determine the Median Class
The total number of observations (N) is 94. Median position = N/2
= 94/2 = 47.
The cumulative frequency just greater than 47 is 48, which corresponds
to the mid-value of 45. Since the class interval is 10, the class
interval for the median class is: 40−50
4. Apply the Median Formula
The formula for the median in grouped data is:
N
  −C
2
L+ 
Median = ×h
f

where,
Lower boundary (L) = 40
Frequency of the median class (f) = 21
Cumulative frequency before the median class (C) = 27
Class interval (h) = 10
Substituting the values:
47 − 27
Median =
40 + ×10
21
= 40 + (20/21 ) × 10
= 40 + (0.952) × 10
= 40 + 9.52 ≈ 49.52

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Example 21: How are the mean and median affected when it is known Notes
that for a group of 10 students, scoring an average of 60 marks, the best
paper was wrongly marked 80 instead of 75?
Solution: Here’s how to assess the impact on the mean and median when
correcting a score:
1. Initial Data:
‹ Average (Mean) score = 60
‹ Number of students = 10
‹ Total score (Sum) = Average × Number of students = 60 × 10 = 600
2. Error in Scoring:
‹ The best paper was wrongly marked 80 instead of 75.
3. Correct Total Score:
‹ Correct total score = 600 - 80 + 75 = 595
4. Correct Mean: Correct Mean = Correct Total Score/Number of
Students = 595/10 = 59.5
The median is the middle value of the dataset when it is ordered. For a
dataset with 10 students, the median will be the average of the 5th and
6th values when ordered. If the incorrect score (80) is one of the highest
values, replacing it with 75 might not affect the median if 75 falls among
the lower half of the scores. However, if 75 is a lower value and does
not change the middle position, the median remains the same.
Example 22: Find out the median of the following series:
Wages
(in Rupees) No. of Labourers
260-270 5
250-260 10
240-250 20
230-240 5
220-230 3

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Notes Solution:
To find the median of the given series, follow these steps:
1. Calculate the Cumulative Frequencies:
‹ For the interval 220-230: Cumulative Frequency = 3
‹ For the interval 230-240: Cumulative Frequency = 3 + 5 = 8
‹ For the interval 240-250: Cumulative Frequency = 8 + 20 = 28
‹ For the interval 250-260: Cumulative Frequency = 28 + 10 = 38
‹ For the interval 260-270: Cumulative Frequency = 38 + 5 = 43
Wages No. of Labour- Cumulative Fre-
(in Rupees) (m) ers (f) quency (c.f.)
260-270 5 5
250-260 10 15
240-250 20 35
230-240 5 40
220-230 3 43
n = 43
2. Determine the Median Class:
‹ Total Number of Labourers = 43
‹ Median position = 43/2 = 21.5
‹ The median class is the class interval where the cumulative frequency
just exceeds 21.5. Here, it is the interval 240 – 250 because the
cumulative frequency is 28 (which is greater than 21.5).
3. Use the Median Formula:
N
  −C
2
L+ 
Median = ×h
f

where:
L = Lower boundary of the median class = 240
N = Total number of labourers = 43
C = Cumulative frequency of the class before the median class = 8
f = Frequency of the median class = 20
h = Class interval width = 10 (e.g., 250 – 240)

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Substituting the values: Notes

Median =
240 +
( 21.5) − 8 ×10
20
= 240 + (13.5/20 ) × 10
= 240 + 6.75 = 246.75.
So, the median of the series is 246.75 Rupees.
Example 23: Calculate the mode from the following data:
Income 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74
No. of Workers 8 10 15 25 40 20
Solution:
To calculate the mode for the given data, follow these steps:
1. Identify the Modal Class: The modal class is the class interval with
the highest frequency. Here, the highest frequency is 40, which
corresponds to the class interval 55-64. So, the modal class is 55-64.
2. Apply the Mode Formula: The formula for the mode in grouped
data is:
f1 − f 0
Mode = l+ ×h
2 f1 − f 0 − f 2

Where:
l = Lower boundary of the modal class = 55
f1 = Frequency of the modal class = 40
f0 = Frequency of the class before the modal class = 25
f2 = Frequency of the class after the modal class = 20
h = Class interval width = 10 (since 25-34, 35-44, etc., all have a
width of 10)
Step 3: Substitute the Values into the Formula
40 − 25
Mode =
55 + ×h
2 ( 40 ) − 25 − 20

= 55+(15/(80−45))×10
= 55+(15/35) ×10
= 55+(0.4286) ×10
= 55+4.29 ≈ 59.29.
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Notes Example 24: Find the missing frequency for the following incomplete
distribution by using the appropriate formula when mode is 36.
Variable Frequency
0-10 5
10-20 7
20-30 ?
30-40 ?
40-50 10
50-60 6
50
Solution: We are given that the mode is 36, and the total frequency is
50. Let the missing frequency corresponding to class 20-30 and 30-40
be x and y respectively. Let’s follow the steps to calculate the missing
frequencies.
1. Identify the Modal Class: The mode is given as 36, which falls
in the class interval 30-40. Therefore, the modal class is 30-40.
2. Use the Total Frequency: We know that the total frequency is 50:
5+7+x+y+10+6=50
28+x+y=50
x+y=22
y=22-x
Step 3: Apply the Mode Formula
The formula for the mode in grouped data is:
f1 − f 0
Mode =
l+ ×h
2 f1 − f 0 − f 2

Where:
l = Lower boundary of the modal class = 30
f1 = Frequency of the modal class (30-40) = y = 22-x
f0 = Frequency of the class before the modal class (20-30) = x
f2 = Frequency of the class after the modal class (40-50) = 10
h. = Class interval width = 10 (since 25-34, 35-44, etc., all have a
width of 10)

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Substitute the Values into the Formula Notes

Given that the mode is 36:

36 =
30 +
( 22 − x ) − x ×10
2 ( 22 − x ) − x −10

6 = (22 − 2x /34 − 3x) × 10

0.6 = (22 − 2x /34 − 3x)
0.6 × (34 − 3x) = 22 − 2x
2x − 1.8x = 22 − 20.4
0.2x = 1.6
x = 1.6/0.2
x = 8
y = 22-x = 22-8 = 14
The missing frequencies are: x = 8 and y = 14.
Example 25: The average marks secured by 50 students was 44. Later
on, it was discovered that a score 36 was misread as 56. Find the correct
average secured for the students.
Solution:
Given N = 50 and mean or X = 44
ΣX
X =
= ΣX = X N or 44 × 50 = 2200
N
However, since a score of 36 was misread as 56, the total of NX should
have been 2200 – 56 + 36 = 2180. Hence the corrected mean would be
X = 2180/50 = 43.6 marks.

4.8 Exercise
1. Define an Average. Describe briefly advantages and disadvantages
of Arithmetic Mean.
2. What are the mathematical properties of Arithmetic Mean.
3. The heights (in cms) of 10 students of a class were noted as shown
below. Compute the arithmetic mean.

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Notes S. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Height 160 167 174 158 155 171 162 152 156 175
4. Determine median from the following data:
30, 37, 54, 58, 61, 64, 31, 34, 52, 55, 32, 62, 28, 47, 55
5. Determine the mode of the following data:
58, 60, 31, 62, 48, 37, 78, 43, 65, 48
6. The following table shows the distribution of the number of students
per teacher in 750 colleges
Students 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28
Frequency 7 46 165 195 189 89 28 19 9 3
Calculate arithmetic mean, median and mode.
7. Calculate arithmetic mean, median and mode for the following data.
Marks Obtained 0 – 10 10 – 20 20 – 30 30 – 40 40 – 50 50 – 60 60 – 70
No. of Students 8 14 22 26 15 10 5
8. Calculate the median, quartiles, 4th decile and 60th percentile the
following data
Marks Obtained 0 – 10 10 – 20 20 – 30 30 – 40 40 – 50 50 – 60 60 – 70
No. of Students 8 14 22 26 15 10 5
9. Calculate the median income for the following distribution:
Income 40 –45 45 – 50 50 – 55 55 – 60 60 – 65 65 – 70 70 - 75
(Rs.)
No. of 2 7 10 12 8 3 3
Persons
10. Find median, Q1, Q3, D4, D7, P26, P45 and P70 from the following data
S. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Marks: 5 12 17 23 28 31 37 41 42 49 54 58 65 68 17

11. The mean age of a group of 100 children was 9.35 years. The mean
age of 25 of them was 8.75 years and that of another 65 was 10.51
years. What was the mean age for the remainder?
12. A firm of readymade garments makes both men’s and women’s
shirts. Its profits average 6 percent of sales, its profits in men’s
shirts average 8 percent of sales; and women’s shirts comprise 60
percent of output. What is the average profits per sales rupee in
women’s shirts?
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13. The mean wage of 150 labourers working in a factory running three Notes
shifts of 60, 40, and 50 labourers is Rs. 114.00. The mean wage
of 60 labourers working in the first shift is Rs. 121.50 and that of
40 labourers working in the second shift is Rs. 107.75. Find the
mean wage of the labourers working in the third shift.
14. A market with 168 operating firms has the following distribution
of average number of workers in various income groups:
Income Groups 150-300 300-500 500-800 800-1200 1200-1800
No. of Firms 40 32 26 28 42
Average No. of 8 12 7.5 8.5 4
Workers
Find the average salary paid in the whole market.
15. The expenditure of 1000 families is given as under:
Expenditure 40—59 60—79 80—99 100—119 120—139
(in Rs.)
No. of Families 50 ? 500 ? 50
The median and mean for the distribution are both Rs. 87.50
respectively. Calculate the missing frequencies.
16. The median and mode of the following wage distribution are known
to be Rs. 335 and Rs. 340 respectively. Three frequency values
from the table, however, are missing. Find the missing values.
Wages in Rs. Frequency
0-100 4
100-200 16
200-300 60
300-400 ?
400-500 ?
500-600 ?
600-700 4
230
17. From the following data related to unemployment, calculate the
standardized unemployment rate, the standardized rate of unemployment
of local population and the crude rate of unemployment of local
population.

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Notes Standard Population Local Population

Age (Years) Unemployment Percentage Unemployment Percentage
16-30 250 5% 300 4%
30-45 350 8% 300 9%
45-60 300 12% 350 12%
60 and Over 100 15% 50 20%
Total 1000 1000
18. Calculate the value of mode by the usual formula (after grouping if
necessary):
Class - Interval Frequency
10-20 4
20-30 6
30-40 5
40-50 10
50-60 20
60-70 22
70-80 24
80-90 6
90-100 8
100-110 1
19. A distribution consists of three components with total frequencies
of 200, 250 and 300 having means 25, 10 and 15 respectively. Find
the mean of combined distribution.
20. In a moderately skewed distribution:
(a) Arithmetic mean = 24.6 and the mode = 26.1. Find the value of
the median and explain the reason for the method employed.
(b) In a moderately asymmetrical distribution, the value of the median
is 42.8 and the value of the mode is 40. Find the mean.
(c) If the mode and mean of a moderately asymmetrical series are
respectively 26 and 20.2 meters, compute the most probable
median.
21. Graphically with the help of the ogive curve, find the value of Q1,
Q3, median, P40 and D6
Class Interval 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39
Frequency 5 10 15 20 10 5

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 L E S S O N

5
Measures of Dispersion

STRUCTURE
5.1 Dispersion
5.2 Range
5.3 Interquartile Range and Quartile Deviation
5.4 Mean Deviation
5.5 Standard Deviation and Root Mean Square Deviation
5.6 Miscellaneous Examples
5.7 Exercise

5.1 Dispersion
Averages discussed earlier fail to reveal the full details of the distribution. Two or three
distributions may have the same average but still they may differ from each other in many
ways.
Suppose, there are three series of nine items each as follows:
Series A Series B Series C
50 48 5
50 50 15
50 46 20
50 49 25
50 47 35
50 52 80
50 53 85
50 51 90
50 54 95
In the series A, the mean is 50 and the value of all the items is identical. The items are
not at all scattered, and the mean is the representative of this distribution. However, in
the series B, though the mean is 50 yet all the items of the series have different values.

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Notes But the items are not very much scattered as the minimum value of the
series B is 46 and the maximum is 54 in the range. In the series C also,
the mean is 50 and the values of different items are also different, but
here the values are very widely scattered. Though the mean is the same
in all the three series, yet the series differ widely from each other in
their formation. Obviously, the average is not giving us the complete
information about the series. In such cases, further Statistical analysis
of the data is necessary so that these differences between various series
can be studied and accounted for. Such analysis will make our results
more accurate and we shall be more confident of our conclusions. As
we can see the spread among the items in the Series A is zero, Series B
varies within a small range, while in the Series C the values are widely
scattered. It is evident from the above, that a study of the extent of the
scatter around average should also be made to throw more light on the
composition of a series.
This spread or scatteredness of the data is called dispersion.
Some important definitions of dispersion are given below:
“Dispersion or spread is the degree of the scatter or variation of the
variable about a central value.”
– Brooks and Dick
“Dispersion is the measure of the variations of the items.”
– A. L. Bowley
“The degree to which numerical data tend to spread about an average
value is called the variation or dispersion of the data.”
– Spiegel
“Measures of variability are usually used to indicate how tightly bunched
the sample values are around the mean.”
– Dyckman and Thomas
From the above definitions, it is clear that in a general sense the term
dispersion refers to the variability in the size of the items. If the variation
is substantial, dispersion is said to be significant and if the variation is
very little, dispersion is said to be insignificant.

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 Measures of Dispersion

Measures of Dispersion Notes

Dispersion means scatteredness. If gives us an idea about the homogene-
ity or heterogeneity of the distribution. Measure of Dispersion indicates
the disparity of data from one another. It is required to provide accurate
view of their distribution.

5.1.1 Characteristics for an Ideal Measure of Dispersion

Same as that for ideal measure of central Tendency
1. Rigidly defined
2. Easy to calculate and understand
3. Based on all the observations
4. Suitable for further mathematical treatment
5. Should be least affected by fluctuations of sampling

5.1.2 Measures of Dispersion – are Following

1. Range
2. Quartile deviation or semi-interquartile range
3. Mean deviation
4. Standard deviation

5.2 Range
It is the difference between the greatest and the smallest observations
of the distribution.
If L is maximum value, S – minimum value
Then, Range = L – S.
It is the simplest but a crude measure of dispersion. It is based on two
extreme observations which are subject to chance fluctuations, hence it
is not at all a reliable measure of dispersion. This is an absolute measure
of dispersion and is not suitable for comparison in case distributions
are in different units. For comparison, a relative measure is used, called
coefficient of range.
L−S
Coefficient of Range =
L+S
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Notes 5.2.1 Merits and Demerits of Range

Merits:
1. It is the simplest method of studying variation.
2. It is easy to compute.
3. It is a quick method and takes less time for computation.
Demerits:
1. It is subjected to fluctuations of sampling.
2. It is affected by extreme observations.
3. It is not based on each and every item of the distribution.
4. It cannot be computed in open-end distributions.
Example 1: Find the range of given observations: 32, 41, 28, 54, 35,
26, 23, 33, 38, 40.
Solution:
Since 23 is the lowest value and 54 is the highest value, therefore, the
range of the observations will be;
Range (X) = Max (X) – Min (X)
= 54 – 23
= 31
Example 2: Following are the marks of students in Mathematics: 50, 53,
50, 51, 48, 93, 90, 92, 91, 90. Find the range of the marks. Also obtain
coefficient of range
Solution:
The range of marks will be:
Range = Maximum marks – Minimum marks
Range = 93 – 48 = 45
93 − 48 45
Coefficient of Range = = = 0.319
93 + 48 141

5.3 Interquartile Range and Quartile Deviation

Suppose Q1 is the first quartile, Q2 is the median or second quartile, and
Q3 is the third quartile for the given data set then

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Interquartile Range = Q3 – Q1 Notes

The Quartile Deviation can be defined mathematically as half of the dif-
ference between the first and the third quartile. Here, quartile deviation
can be represented as QD.
Quartile Deviation is also known as the Semi Interquartile range.
QD = (Q3 – Q1)/2
Quartile Deviation gives the average amount by which the two quartiles
differ from the median. It is an absolute measure of dispersion. The relative
measure of dispersion is the coefficient of Quartile Deviation given as:
Q3 − Q1
Coefficient of Q.D. =
Q3 + Q1
5.3.1 Merits and Demerits of Quartile Deviation
Merits:
1. It is used in measuring the variation in case of open-end distributions
as it is a positional measure of dispersion.
2. It is not affected by extreme observations and is therefore used in
badly skewed distributions. It is useful in badly skewed distributions.
Demerits:
1. It does not depend on each and every item of the distribution as it
ignores the first 25% and last 25% of items.
2. It is not capable of further algebraic treatment.
3. It is affected by fluctuations in sampling.
Example 3: Find the quartiles and quartile deviation of the following data:
17, 2, 7, 27, 15, 5, 14, 8, 10, 24, 48, 10, 8, 7, 18, 28
Solution:
Given data:
17, 2, 7, 27, 15, 5, 14, 8, 10, 24, 48, 10, 8, 7, 18, 28
Ascending order of the given data is:
2, 5, 7, 7, 8, 8, 10, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 24, 27, 28, 48
Number of data values = n = 16
Q2 = Median of the given data set

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Notes n is even, median = (1/2) [(n/2)th observation and (n/2 + 1)th observation]
= (1/2) [8th observation + 9th observation]
= (10 + 14)/2
= 24/2
= 12
Q2 = 12
Now, lower half of the data is:
2, 5, 7, 7, 8, 8, 10, 10 (even number of observations)
Q1 = Median of lower half of the data
= (1/2) [4th observation + 5th observation]
= (7 + 8)/2
= 15/2
= 7.5
Also, the upper half of the data is:
14, 15, 17, 18, 24, 27, 28, 48 (even number of observations)
Q3 = Median of upper half of the data
= (1/2) [4th observation + 5th observation]
= (18 + 24)/2
= 42/2
= 21
Quartile deviation = (Q3 – Q1)/2
= (21 – 7.5)/2
= 13.5/2
= 6.75
Therefore, the quartile deviation for the given data set is 6.75.

5.4 Mean Deviation

The mean deviation is the average difference between the items in a
distribution from the mean of that series. Hence it is also known as
average deviation.

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 Measures of Dispersion

Mean deviation is least when taken from median. However, in practice, Notes
arithmetic mean is most frequently used in calculating mean deviation.
It is a better measure of dispersion as it is based on all the observations.
But since it ignores the signs of the deviations it becomes useless for
further mathematical treatment.
Mean deviation in case of individual observations:
If xi, i = 1, 2, ...... n are the observations then mean deviation from the
average A is

Mean deviation (M.D.) =

∑ x −A =∑ D
i

N N
where | xi – A | = |D| is the absolute value of (xi – A) (ignoring the sign)
‘A’ is usually taken as mean, median or mode.
Mean deviation in case of discrete or continuous distribution:
If xi/fi ; I = 1, 2…., n is the frequency distribution then mean deviation
from the average A is
∑f x − A = ∑f D
i
M. D. =
∑f N

Coefficient of mean deviation:

It is the relative measure of mean deviation
M .D.
Coefficient of M. D. =
Average from which mean deviationis calculated
5.4.1 Merits and Demerits of Mean Deviation
Merits:
1. It is simple to understand
2. It is easy to compute
3. It is based on all the observations of the series
4. It is not affected much by the extreme observations
5. It is used to forecast business cycle by national Bureau of Economic
Research

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Notes Demerits:
1. It is not capable of further algebraic treatments since it ignores sign
2. It does not always give accurate results. It gives the best result when
the deviations are taken from the median
3. It is rarely used in sociological studies. Hence it has limited use.
Example 4: Determine the mean deviation about mean for the data val-
ues 5, 3,7, 8, 4, 9.
Solution:
Given data values are 5, 3, 7, 8, 4, 9.
First, find the mean for the given data:
Mean, µ = (5+3+7+8+4+9)/6
µ = 36/6
µ = 6
Therefore, the mean value is 6.
Now, subtract the mean from each of the data value, and ignore the
minus symbol if any
The obtained values are 1, 3, 1, 2, 2, 3.
Therefore, the mean deviation is
= (1 + 3 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 3)/6
= 12/6
= 2

5.5 Standard Deviation and Root Mean Square Deviation

Standard Deviation (S.D.) measures the absolute dispersion or variabil-
ity of a distribution. The greater the variability the greater the value of
standard deviation. Smaller the value of standard deviation, higher is the
degree of uniformity and homogeneity among the observations. It satisfies
most of the properties of a good measure of dispersion hence it is by far
most important and widely used measure.
Standard deviation is the positive square root of the arithmetic mean of
the squares of the deviation of the given values from their arithmetic mean
hence it is also called root mean square deviation. It is denoted by σ .
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 Measures of Dispersion

5.5.1 Standard Deviation in Case of Individual Observations is Notes

obtained using any of the following formula:

(i)  σ
=
1
∑(x − x )
2
  or   ∑x 2

− x2
N N
2

= σ
(ii) 
∑d 2
 ∑d 
−
N  N 
 
where, d = X – A, A is any assumed mean, N is total number of observations.

5.5.2 Standard Deviation in Case of Discrete Series is obtained using

any of the following formula:
(i) Actual mean method

=σ
1
∑f (x − x)
2
or
∑ fx 2

− x2
N N
Where N = ∑f
(ii) Assumed mean method
2

=σ ∑ fd 2
 ∑ fd 
−
N  N 
 

Where, d = x – A, A is assumed mean and N = ∑f

(iii) Step deviation method
2

σ=
h×
∑ fu 2
 ∑ fu 
−
N  N 
 
x− A
Where, u = , A is assumed mean and h is class size
h
5.5.3 Standard Deviation in Case of Continuous Series is obtained
using any of the following formula:
For the frequency distribution xi/fi ; i = 1, 2, ......, n
2

σ=
h×
∑ fu 2
 ∑ fu 
−
N  N 
 

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes m− A
Where, u = , A is assumed mean, m is mid-value of the class and
h
h is class size

5.5.4 Merits and Demerits of Standard Deviation:

Merits
(i) The step of squaring the deviations ( xi − x ) overcomes the drawback
of ignoring the signs in mean deviation. Hence it is suitable for
further mathematical of sampling.
(ii) Standard deviation is least affected by fluctuations of sampling.
(iii) It is based on all the observations of the data.
Demerits
(i) It is not readily comprehensible for a non-mathematical person since
it requires finding of square root.
(ii) It gives more weights to extreme values.

5.5.5 Variance
The square of standard deviation is called the variance. It is denoted by σ 2
1 1
∑ f ( x −=
x) ∑ fx
2
σ2
= 2
− x2
N N

5.5.6 Coefficient of Variation

It is the relative measure of dispersion and is used in problems where we
want to compare the variability of two or more series. The series with
greater coefficient of variation is said to be more variable or inconsis-
tent and the series with less coefficient of variation is said to be more
homogeneous or consistent or more uniform or more stable. It is denoted
by C.V. and given by the formula
σ
C.V. = ×100
x
Example 5: Calculate the mean, variance and standard deviation for the
following data:
Class Interval 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60
Frequency 27 10 7 5 4 2

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 Measures of Dispersion

Solution: Notes
Class Interval Frequency (f) Mid Value (x) fx fx2
0 – 10 27 5 135 675
10 – 20 10 15 150 2250
20 – 30 7 25 175 4375
30 – 40 5 35 175 6125
40 – 50 4 45 180 8100
50 – 60 2 55 110 6050
∑f = 55 ∑fx = 925 ∑fx2 =
27575
N = ∑f = 55
Mean = (∑fxi)/N = 925/55 = 16.818
1
Variance =
N
∑ xi2 − x 2

= 1/(55) [27575] – [16.818]2

= 501.3636 – 282.8451
= 218.5185
Standard deviation = variance = 218.5185 = 14.782
Example 6: Compute the standard deviation for the following frequency
distribution:
Class interval 0–4 4–8 8–12 12–16
Frequency 4 8 2 1
Solution:
Class Interval f x fx fx2
0–4 4 2 8 16
4–8 8 6 48 288
8–12 2 10 20 200
12–16 1 14 14 196
f = 15 fx = 90 fx2 = 700
Variance = 700/15 – (90/15)2 = 10.66
Standard Deviation = variance = 10.66 = 3.26

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Notes
5.6 Miscellaneous Examples
Example 7: Determine range and coefficient of range from the following
data:
Wages 100-110 110-120 120-130 130-140 140-150 150-160
No. of Workers 10 12 15 16 9 8
Solution:
Minimum value = 100
Maximum value = 160
Range = L – S = 160 – 100
L − S 160 − 100 60
Coefficient of range = = = = 0.23
L + S 160 + 100 260
Example 8: Find the interquartile range and coefficient of quartile de-
viation from the data given below:
200, 210, 208, 160, 220, 250, 300
Solution: Arranging the data in ascending order, we get
160, 200, 208, 210, 220, 250, 300
N = 7
N +1 th
Q1 = size of ( ) item
4
7 +1
= = 2nd item = 200
4
 3 ( N + 1)  th
Q3 = size of   item
 4 
= 6th item = 250
Interquartile range = Q3 – Q1
= 250 – 200
= 50

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 Measures of Dispersion

Q3 − Q1 Notes
Coefficient of quartile deviation =
Q3 + Q1
250 − 200
=
250 + 200
50
=
450
= 0.11
Example 9: Find the interquartile range from the following data:
Marks (more than) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
No. of Students 80 76 50 28 18 9 3
Solution:
Marks Frequency (f) Cumulative Frequency (c.f.)
0 – 20 4 4
20 – 40 26 30
40 – 60 22 52
60 – 80 10 62
80 – 100 9 71
100 – 120 6 77
120 – 140 3 80
N = 80
N = 80
N th
Q1 = size of ( ) item
4
80
= = 20nd item
4
Therefore, the quartile class is 20 - 40
N
− cf
4 20 − 4
Q1 = l + × h = 20 + × 20 = 20 + 12.3 = 32.3
f 26

 3 N  th
Q3 = size of   item
 4 
= 60th item

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Notes Therefore, quartile class is 60 – 80

3N
− cf
60 − 52
Q3 =l + 4 × h =60 + × 20
f 10
= 60 + 16 = 76
Interquartile range = Q3 – Q1
= 76 – 32.3
= 43.7
Example 10: Calculate the coefficient of mean deviation from the data
given below:
Mid value 115 125 135 145 155 165 175 185 195
Frequency 6 25 48 72 116 60 38 22 3
Solution:
Since we are given the mid-values, we first find the class intervals. Since
the differences between the two consecutive mid-values is 10, therefore
Class size = 10
The first class-interval will be 110 -120. Subsequent class intervals can
be found easily.
Cumulative
Class Mid-Value Frequency Frequency |d| = |x
Intervals (x) (f) (c.f.) – 53.8| f|d|
110 – 120 115 6 6 38.8 232.8
120 – 130 125 25 31 28.8 720.0
130 – 140 135 48 79 18.8 902.4
140 – 150 145 72 151 8.8 633.6
150 – 160 155 116 267 1.2 139.2
160 – 170 165 60 327 11.2 672.0
170 – 180 175 38 365 21.2 805.6
180 – 190 185 22 387 31.2 686.4
190 - 200 195 3 390 41.2 123.6
N = 390 Σf d =
4915.6

th
N
Median =   item = 195th item
2

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 Measures of Dispersion

Therefore, median class = 150 – 160 Notes

N
− cf
195 − 151
Median = l + 2 × h= 150 + × 10= 150 + 3.79= 153.8
f 116
Σf d 4915.6
Mean deviation = = = 12.6
N 390
mean deviation 12.6
Coefficient of mean deviation = = = 0.0819
median 153.8
Example 11: Calculate the mean deviation from mean from the follow-
ing data:
Marks 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70
No. of Students 4 6 10 20 10 6 4
Solution:
Mid Value d = (m – 35)/ D = |d –
Marks (m) f 10 fd mean|/10 f|D|
0 – 10 5 4 -3 -12 3 12
10 – 20 15 6 -2 -12 2 12
20 – 30 25 10 -1 -10 1 10
30 – 40 35 20 0 0 0 0
40 – 50 45 10 1 10 1 10
50 – 60 55 6 2 12 2 12
60 - 70 65 4 3 12 3 12
N = 60 Σfd = 0 Σf|D| = 68

∑ fd × i
Mean = A +
N
0
= 35 + × 10 =
35
60

Mean deviation =
∑f D
× i=
68
× 10= 11.33
N 60
Example 12: Find the standard deviation for the following distribution:
X 4.5 14.5 24.5 34.5 44.5 54.5 64.5
f 1 5 12 22 17 9 4

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes Solution:
X f d = (X – 34.5)/10 fd fd2
4.5 1 -3 -3 9
14.5 5 -2 -10 20
24.5 12 -1 -12 12
34.5 22 0 0 0
44.5 17 1 17 17
54.5 9 2 18 36
64.5 4 3 12 36
N = 70 Σfd = 22 Σfd2 = 130
2

σ=
i×
∑ fd 2
 ∑ fd 
−
N  N 
 
2
130  22 
10
=× − 
70  70 

= 10 × 1.757 = 13.26
Example 13: The number of employee, wages per employee and the
variance of the wages of employees for two factories are given below:
Factory A Factory B
No. of Employees 50 100
Average Wages per Employee per Month 1200 850
Variance of the Wages (Rs.) 81 256
(i) In which factory is the greater variation in the distribution of wages
per employee?
(ii) Suppose I factory B, the wages of an employee were wrongly noted
as Rs. 900 instead of Rs. 910. What would be the correct variance
of wages in Factory B?
Solution:
(i) In order to compare the distribution of wages in the two factories,
we find coefficient of variation. The Coefficient of variation is
given by the formula
σ
C.V. = ×100
x
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 Measures of Dispersion

Now, Notes
9
C.V. for factory A = ×100 =
0.75%
1200
16
C.V. for factory B = ×100 = 1.88%
850
Since the coefficient of variation is greater for factory B, it shows
greater variation in the distribution of wages per employee.
(ii) For factory B,
ΣX= 850 ×100= 85000
Corrected Σ
= X 85000 − 900 + 910
= 85010
85010
Thus the corrected mean,
= X = 850.10
100
Now,

σ2
Variance ==
∑X − ( X )
2
2

N
It is given for factory B, variance = 256, N = 100, mean = 850
Hence, from the variance formula, we get

256
=
∑X 2

− ( 850 )
2

100

25600 = ∑X 2
– 72250000
∑X 2
= 72250000 – 25600 = 72275600
Hence, correct ∑X 2
= 72275600 – (900)2 + (910)2
= 72293700
Now the correct variance is
correct ∑X 2
− ( correct X )
2
correct
= variance
N
72293700
− ( 850.10 )
2
=
100
= 266.99

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes Example 14: Calculate the variance of the following data:

Variable 20 - 25 25 - 30 30 - 35 35 - 40 40 - 45 45 - 50
Frequency 170 110 80 45 40 35
Solution:
Mid-point Frequency m − 32.5
u =
Variable (m) (f) 5 fu fu2
20 – 25 22.5 170 -2 -340 680
25 – 30 27.5 110 -1 -110 110
30 – 35 32.5 80 0 0 0
35 – 40 37.5 45 1 45 45
40 – 45 42.5 40 2 80 160
45 - 50 47.5 35 3 105 315
2
N = 480 −220 Σfu =
Σfu = 1310

Variance =

1310  −220  2  2
=  −   ×5
 480  480  
= (2.729 – 0.21) × 25 = 62.975
Example 15: From the data given below state which series is more
consistent:
Variable Series A Series B
10 – 20 10 18
20 – 30 18 22
30 – 40 32 40
40 – 50 40 32
50 – 60 22 18
60 – 70 18 10

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 Measures of Dispersion

Solution: Notes
Mid Value Series A Series B
Variable (x) f fx fx2 f fx fx2
10 – 20 15 10 150 2250 18 270 4050
20 – 30 25 18 450 11250 22 550 13750
30 – 40 35 32 1120 39200 40 1400 49000
40 – 50 45 40 1800 81000 32 1440 64800
50 – 60 55 22 1210 66550 18 990 54450
60 – 70 65 18 1170 76050 10 650 42250
Σfx = Σfx =
2
Σfx2
N = 140 140 Σfx =5300
5900 276300 =228300

Σfx 5900
Mean for series A = = = 42.14
N 140

Standard deviation for series A

2
276300  5900 
= −  = 14.05
140  140 
σ 14.05
C.V. of series A = ×100 = ×100 =
33.34%
x 42.14
Now,
Σfx 5300
Mean for series B = = = 37.86
N 140
2
Σfx 2  Ófx 
=
Standard deviation for series B − 
N  N 
2
228300  5300 
= −  = 14.06
140  140 
σ
14.06
C.V. of series B = ×100 =
×100 = 37.14%
x 37.86
Since the coefficient of variation is less for series A hence series A is
more consistent.

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Notes
5.7 Exercise
1. What is Dispersion? Discuss the Merits and Demerits of (i) Range
(ii) Mean Deviation.
2. Find the range for the following data:
(a) 63, 89, 98, 125, 79, 108, 117, 68
(b) 43.5, 13.6, 18.9, 38.4, 61.4, 29.8
3. A teacher asked the students to complete 60 pages of a record note
book. Eight students have completed only 32, 35, 37, 30, 33, 36,
35 and 37 pages. Find the standard deviation of the pages yet to
be completed by them.
Mass in kg. 60–62 63–65 66–68 69–71 72–74
Number of Students 5 18 42 27 8
4. From the following frequency distribution, compute the standard
deviation of 100 students:
5. Calculate the mean and standard deviation for the following data:
Size of Item 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Frequency 3 6 9 13 8 5 4
6. What is the range for the following data set:
1,2,8,9,7,4,1,1,3,2,3
7. What is the range of the data sets 6, 2, 11, 14, 19, and 15?
8. Determine the highest value in the data set, if the range equals 40
and the lowest value should be equal to 6.
9. Find the range of the first 5 composite numbers.
10. Determine the interquartile range value for the first ten prime numbers.
11. Find the variance for an ungrouped data 5,12,3,18,6,8,2,10.
12. Find the variance of the following distribution.
Class Interval Frequency
20 - 24 15
25 - 29 25
30 - 34 28
35 - 39 12
40 - 44 12
45 - 49 8
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 Measures of Dispersion

13. During the 10 weeks of a session, the marks obtained by two Notes
candidates, Ramesh and Suresh, taking the computer programme
course are given below:
Ramesh 58 59 60 54 65 66 52 75 69 52
Suresh 87 89 78 71 73 84 65 66 56 46
(i) Who is the better scorer – Ramesh or Suresh?
(ii) Who is more consistent?
14. From the prices of shares of X and Y given below, state which share
is more stable in value:
X 55 54 52 53 56 58 52 50 51 49
Y 108 107 105 105 106 107 104 103 104 101
15. Calculate the mean deviation from the median for the following data:
Age (yrs.) 4-6 6-8 8-10 10-12 12-14 14-16 16-18
No. of Students 30 90 120 150 80 60 20
16. A factory produces two types of electric lamps A and B. in an
experiment relating to their life, the following results were obtained:
Length of Life No. of Lamps A No. of Lamps B
(in hrs)
500 – 700 5 4
700 – 900 11 30
900 – 1100 26 12
1100 – 1300 10 8
1300 - 1500 8 6
Compare the variability of the life of the two varieties using coefficient
of variation.
17. Find out who is better and consistent Batsman from the following
data:
Batsman A 10 12 80 70 60 100 0 4
Batsman B 8 9 7 10 5 9 10 8
18. The mean and standard deviation of 15 items were found to be 8
and 2 respectively. On checking, it was discovered that one item
11 has been misread as 5. Calculate the correct mean and standard
deviation.

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 L E S S O N

6
Moments

STRUCTURE
6.1 Moments
6.2 Skewness
6.3 Kurtosis
6.4 Normal Curve
6.5 Miscellaneous Questions
6.6 Exercise

6.1 Moments
In statistics, “moments” are quantitative measures related to the shape of a set of points.
Moments are used in various fields such as physics, engineering, and probability theory
to understand the distribution and characteristics of data sets. First four moments are of
key importance in statistics. These moments provide a comprehensive summary of the
data’s characteristics.
The first moment about the origin is the mean, which is a measure of central tendency.
The second moment about the mean is the variance, which measures the spread or dis-
persion of the data.
The third moment about the mean is skewness, which measures the asymmetry of the
data distribution.
The fourth moment about the mean is kurtosis, which measures the “tailedness” or peak-
edness of the data distribution. That is, it shows the presence of outliers and the shape
of the data distribution’s tails.

6.1.1 Moments About Mean

The rth moment of a variable x about the mean x is denoted by µr . It is given by the
formula
1 n

∑f (x − x)
r
=µr i i
N i =1

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 Moments

Or Notes
1 n

∑f (z )
r
µr = i i
N i =1 ,
where, zi= xi − x
Here, fi is the frequency of the ith class and N is the total frequency.
Keeping r = 1, 2, 3, 4 gives the first four moments about mean.
In particular, for r = 0
1 n 1 n
∑ fi ( xi − x ) ⇒ µ= ∑=
0
µ=
0
0 fi 1
=N i 1= N i1

For r = 1
1 n

∑f (x =
−x)
1
=µ1 i i 0
N i =1

For r = 2
1 n

∑f (x − x)
2
µ2 = i i =σ 2 =variance
N i =1

For r = 3
1 n

∑f (x − x)
3
=µ3 i i
N i =1

For r = 4
1 n

∑f (x − x)
4
=µ4 i i
N i =1

6.1.2 Moments about a point or Raw moments

The rth moment of a variable x about any point x = A, is denoted by µr′

and is given by the formula,
1 n

∑ f ( x − A)
r
=µr′ i i ,
N i =1

where, N = Σfi
Or

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Notes 1 n

∑ f (d )
r
µr′ = i i ,
N i =1

where, di = xi – A
Keeping r = 1, 2, 3, 4 in the above formula, we get the first four raw
moments about any point A.
Thus,
For r = 1
1 n

∑ f ( x − A)
1
=µ1′ i i
N i =1

For r = 2
1 n

∑ f ( x − A)
2
=µ2′ i i
N i =1

For r = 3
1 n

∑ f ( x − A)
3
=µ3′ i i
N i =1

For r = 4
1 n

∑ f ( x − A)
4
=µ4′ i i
N i =1

1 n
A + ∑ fi di =
Note: x = A + µ1′, where di =
xi − A
N i =1

6.1.3 Moments About Origin

The first four moment about origin is obtained on keeping A = 0 in the
formula for moment about a point.
1 n 1 n
∑ fi ( xi =
− A) ∑ fi ( xi − 0 )
r r
µr′
=
=N i 1= N i1
1 n

∑f (x )
r
= i i
N i =1

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 Moments

Thus, for r = 1 Notes

1 n

∑f (x )=
1
µ1′= i i x= mean
N i =1

For r = 2
1 n

∑f (x )
2
µ2′ = i i
N i =1

For r = 3 and r = 4, we get respectively

1 n
1 n

∑f (x ) ∑f (x )
3 4
µ3′ = i i , µ4′ = i i
N i =1 N i =1

6.1.4 Relation between

The moments about mean can be expressed in terms of moments about
any point, i.e., in terms of raw moments. The relationship is given as
µ=
2 µ2′ − µ1′2
µ3′ 3µ2′ µ1′ + 2µ1′3
µ3 =−
µ4′ 4µ3′ µ1′ + 6µ2′ µ 1′2− 3µ 1′4
µ4 =−
Conversely, the moments about a point can be expressed as moments
about mean by the following relationships
′ µ2 + µ1′2
µ=
2

µ3′ =
µ3 + 3 µ2 µ1′ + µ1′3
µ4′ =+
µ4 4 µ3 µ1′ + 6µ2 µ1′2 + µ1′4
Example 1: Find the first four moments for the following individual series:
X 1 3 9 12 20
Solution:
Sl. No. x x − x (x − x )2 (x − x )3 (x − x )4
1 1 – 8 64 – 512 4096
2 3 – 6 36 – 216 1296
3 9 0 0 0 0

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Notes 4 12 3 9 27 81
5 20 11 121 131 14641
n = 5 Σ x Σ (x − x ) Σ (x − x )2 Σ (x − x ) = Σ (x − x ) 4
3

= 45 = 0 = 230 630 = 20114

Σx
x= = 9
n

(x − x )
∑=
5 1
i
=µ1 i =1
0
n

∑ ( x − x=
)
5 2
i 230
µ2
= i =1
= 46
n 5

∑ ( x − x=
)
5 3
i 630
µ3
= i =1
= 126
n 5

∑ f ( xi − x ) 20114
5 4
i =1 i
=µ4 = = 4022.8
n 5
Example 2: Calculate the variance and third central moment from the
following data:
xi 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
fi 1 9 26 59 72 52 29 7 1
Solution:
xi fi xi – 4 fi (xi – 4) fi (xi – 4)2 fi (xi – 4)3
0 1 – 4 – 4 16 – 64
1 9 – 3 – 27 81 – 243
2 26 – 2 – 52 104 – 208
3 59 – 1 – 59 59 – 59
4 72 0 0 0 0
5 52 1 52 52 52
6 29 2 58 116 232
7 7 3 21 63 189
8 1 4 4 16 64
Σ f i = 256 Σ fi (xi – 4) Σ fi (xi – 4)2 = Σ fi (xi – 4)3
= – 7 507 = – 37

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 Moments

1 8
−7 Notes
∑ f ( x=
− 4)
1
=µ1′ i i
N i =1 256
1 8
507
∑f (x=
− 4)
2
=µ2′ i i
N i =1 256
1 8
−37
∑ f ( x=
− 4)
3
=µ3′ i i
N i =1 256
2
µ= µ2′ − µ1′2 =
507  −7 
2 −   = 1.98047 – 0.00075 = 1.97972
256  256 
3
−37  507   −7   −7 
µ3′ − 3µ2′ µ1′ + 2µ1′ = − 3 
µ3 = 3
  + 2 
256  256   256   256 
= –0.14453 + 0.16246 – 0.00004
= 0.01789
Example 3: Calculate μ1, μ2, μ3, μ4 for the following frequency distribution:
Marks 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60
No. of Students 1 6 10 15 11 7
Solution: n = 6
No. of Mid
Students Value x − f (x − f (x −
Marks f x fx x x) f (x − x) 2
x)3 f (x − x)4
0-10 1 5 5 –30 – 30 900 – 27000 810000
10-20 6 15 90 –20 – 120 2400 – 48000 960000
20-30 10 25 250 –10 – 100 1000 – 10000 100000
30-40 15 35 525 0 0 0 0 0
40-50 11 45 495 10 110 1100 11000 11000
50-60 7 55 385 20 140 2800 56000 112000
Ν = Σ f Σ fx = Σ f (x − Σ f (x Σ f (x Σ f (x
= 50 1750 x) = 0 − x)2 = − x)3= − x)4 =
8200 –18000 3100000
Σx
x= = 9
n
1 n
0
∑f (x − x )
1
µ1 = i i = =0
N i =1 50

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Notes 1 n
8200
∑f (x − x )
2
µ2 = i i = = 164
N i =1 50

1 n
−18000
µ3 =∑ fi ( xi − x ) =
3
−360
=
N i =1 50

1 n
3100000
∑ f ( x − x=
)
4
µ4
= i i = 62000
N i =1 50

Example 4: The first three moments of a distribution, about the value

‘2’ of the variable are 1, 16 and –40. Show that the mean is 3, variance
is 15 and μ3 = –86.
Solution: We have
A = 2, μ′1 = 1, μ′2 = 16 and μ′3 = – 40
µ1′ = x − A ⇒ x = µ1′ + A
= 1 + 2 = 3
we know that
Variance = µ2′ − µ1′2 =16 – (1)2 = 15
µ3′ − 3µ2′ µ1′ + 2 µ1′3 =– 40 – 3(16)(1) + 2(1)3 = – 40 – 48 + 2
µ3 =
= –86.
Example 5: The first four moments of a distribution, about the value
‘35’ are –1.8, 240, –1020 and 144000. Find the values of μ1, μ2, μ3, μ4.
Solution: We have, A = 35,

µ1′ = –1.8, µ2′ = 240, µ3′ = –1020 and µ4′ = 144000

μ1 = 0
µ=
2 µ2′ − µ1′2 = 240 – (–1.8)2 = 236.76
µ3′ 3µ2′ µ1′ + 2µ1′3= –1020 – 3(240) (–1.8) + 2(–1.8)3 = 264.36
µ3 =−
µ4′ 4µ3 µ1′ + 6µ2 µ1′2 − 3µ1′4
µ4 =−
= 144000 – 4(–1020) (–1.8) + 6(240) (–1.8)2 – 3(–1.8)4 = 141290.11.

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 Moments

Notes
6.2 Skewness
Skewness denotes lack of symmetry. The distribution is said to be skewed
if mean, median and mode are not equal.
Skew Symmetrical Distribution
A distribution which is not symmetrical is said to be skew symmetrical
distribution. In skew symmetrical distribution the left tail and the right
tail are not of equal length. One tail will be longer than the other.
Negatively Skewed Distribution
In negatively skewed distribution, left tail of the curve is longer than
the right tail.

Positively Skewed Distribution

In positively skewed distribution, right tail of the curve is longer than
the left tail.

Symmetric Distribution
In symmetric distribution, both the tails of the curve are same.

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Notes

Definition of Skewness
A distribution is said to be ‘skewed’ when the mean, median and mode
fall at different points in the distribution and the balance is shifted to
one side or the other – To left or right. It is denoted as Sk
Note:
(i) There is no skewness in the distribution if mean = mode = median
(ii) There is no skewness in the distribution if, third quartile – median
= median – first quartile.
(iii) There is no skewness if the sum of the frequencies which are less
than mode = sum of the frequencies which are greater than mode
(iv) There is no skewness if quartiles are equidistant from the median.
(v) The distribution is negatively skewed if mean is less than mode.
Types of Skewness
1. Fairly symmetrical
2. Positively skewed
3. Negatively skewed.

6.2.1 Measures of Skewness

Measure of skewness is known as the measure of symmetry. There are
two types of measures of skewness.
1. Absolute Measure:
i. Skewness = (Mean – Mode)
ii. Skewness = (Mean – Median)
iii. Skewness = (Q3 – Median) – (Median – Q1)

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 Moments

2. Relative Measure: The relative measures of skewness are. Notes

i. Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Skewness
ii. Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness.

6.2.2 Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Skewness

Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Skewness =
Sk = Mean – Mode
Standard deviation
Or
3 (Mean – Median)
=
Standard deviation
It generally lies between –3 and 3.
If its value is zero then there is no skewness.
Note:
1. Distribution is symmetrical, that is, there is no skewness if Sk = 0
mean − mode
0 ⇒ mean − mode =
= 0 ⇒ mean =
mode
standard deviation
2. Distribution is negatively skewed if Sk < 0
mean − mode
< 0 ⇒ mean − mode < 0 ⇒ mean < mode
standard deviation
3. Distribution is positively skewed if Sk > 0
mean − mode
> 0 ⇒ mean − mode > 0 ⇒ mean > mode
standard deviation
Example 6: Compute the coefficient of Skewness from the following data:
X 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
F 3 6 9 13 8 5 4
Solution: Let A = 9
X f d = x – 9 f d f d2 c.f.
6 3 – 3 – 9 27 3
7 6 – 2 – 12 24 9
8 9 – 1 – 9 9 18
9 13 0 0 0 31
10 8 1 8 8 39

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Notes 11 5 2 10 20 44
12 4 3 12 36 48
Σ f = Σ fd = 0 Σfd = 124
2

48

Ófd 0
Mean = A + = 9+ =9
Óf 48
Mode = value of x corresponding to maximum frequency (13) = 9

SD =

2
124  0 
SD = − 
48  48 
SD = 1.61
mean − mode 9 −9
Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Skewness = = =0
standard Deviation 1.61
Example 7: Calculate Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Skewness from the
table given below:
Wages of Day 55 – 58 58 – 61 61 – 64 64 – 67 67 – 70
No. of Workers 12 17 23 18 11
Solution: Let A = 62.5
No. of Mid
Wages Workers Value d =
of Day (f) (x) x – 62.5 fd fd2 c.f.
55 – 58 12 56.5 – 6 – 72 432 12
58 – 61 17 59.5 – 3 – 51 153 29
61− 64 23 62.5 0 0 0 52
64 – 67 18 65.5 3 54 162 70
67 – 70 11 68.5 6 66 396 81
Σ f = 81 Σ fd = Σfd2 =
– 3 1143
Ófd −3
Mean = A + = 62.5 + = 62.46
Óf 81
Median class is 61 – 64

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 Moments

N   81  Notes
 −cf   − 29 
2 2
l+
Hence, Median = i =
61 +   3 =
( ) 62.5
f 23
2
1143  −3  10286
SD = = −   = = 3.76
81  81  729
3 ( mean − median )
Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Skewness = = - 0.032
SD
6.2.3 Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness
Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness is based on the quartiles and median.
A distribution is symmetrical if the distance between the first quartile and
median is equal to the distance between the median and third quartile.
It is defined as
Q3 + Q1 − 2 Median
Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness =
Q3 − Q1

where, Q3 is the third Quartile, Q1 is the first Quartile.

Characteristics of Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness
1. If the distribution has open end or unequal class intervals then
Pearson’s Coefficient of Skewness cannot be calculated but Bowley’s
Coefficient of Skewness can be calculated.
2. Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness lies between – 1 and + 1.
3. Bowley’s measure is calculated only from the continuous distribution
with exclusive classes.
Limitations of Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness
1. It is based on the central 50% of the data and ignores the remaining
50% of the data on the extremes.
2. Bowley’s formulae and Pearson’s formulae cannot be compared.
However, if the distribution is symmetrical then both coefficients
are zero.
Example 8: From the following data find Bowley’s Coefficient of Skew-
ness: Difference of quartiles = 80, Mode = 60, Sum of the quartiles =
120 and Mean = 45

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Notes Solution: Here, we have

Q3 + Q1 = 120
Q3 – Q1 = 80
Mode = 60
Mean = 45
We know that
Mode = 3 Median – 2 Mean
60 = 3 Median – 2 (45)
Therefore, Median = 50
Now,
Q3 + Q1 − 2 Median
Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness = Q3 − Q1
120 −2 ( 50 )
= = 0.25
80
Example 9: Calculate Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness from the data
given below:
No. of Houses 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
No. of Air Conditioners 15 20 14 25 13 8 4
Solution:
No. of Houses No. of Air Conditioners Cumulative Frequency
(x) (f )
0 15 15
1 20 35
2 14 49
3 25 74
4 13 87
5 8 95
6 4 99
Here N = 99
th
 N +1 
Q1 = size of   item = 1
 4 

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 Moments

th Notes
 3 ( N + 1) 
Q3 = size of   item = 4
 4 
th
 N +1 
median = size of   item = 3
 2 
Q3 + Q1 − 2 Median
Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness =
Q3 − Q1
4 + 1 −2 ( 3)
= = −0.33
4 −1

6.3 Kurtosis
It tells about the shape of a frequency distribution. It is a measure of
the flatness or peakedness of the curve

The measure of Kurtosis is

µ4
β=
2 , γ=
2 β2 − 3
µ22
If β2 = 3, i.e., γ 2 = 0 the curve is normal or mesokurtic.
β2 > 3, i.e., γ 2 > 0 the curve is peaked than normal or leptokurtic.
β2 < 3, i.e., γ 2 < 0 the curve is flat topped or platykurtic.
Note: Measure of Skewness in terms of moments is:
µ32
β1 = , γ 1 = + β1
µ23

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Notes Example 10: Find the relation between moment about the mean and mo-
ment about any arbitrary point. The first four moments of a distribution
about the value 4 of the variate are –1.5, 17, –30 and 108. Calculate the
first four moments about the mean and find β1 and β2.
Solution:
We have,

A = 4, µ1′ = –1.5, µ2′ = 17, µ3′ = –30 and µ1′ = 108

4

Moments about the mean

μ1 = 0
μ2 = μ′2 – (μ′1)2 = 17 – (– 1.5)2 = 17 – 2.25 = 14.75
μ3 = μ′3 – 3μ′2 μ′1 + 2 (μ′1)3
= – 30 – 3 (17) (–1.5) + 2 (–1.5)3 = – 30 + 76.5 – 6.75
= 39.75
µ4′ 4µ3′ µ1′ + 6µ2′ µ1′2 − 3µ1′4
µ4 =−
= 108 – 4 (–30) (–1.5) + 6 (17) (–1.5)2 – 3 (–1.5)4
= 108 – 180 + 229.5 – 15.19 = 142.31
µ32 39.752
β=
1 = = 0.4924
µ23 14.753
µ4 142.31
β=
2 = = 0.6541
µ22 14.752
Example 11: Calculate the first four moments of the following distribu-
tion about the mean and hence find β1 and β2:
X 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
F 1 8 28 56 70 56 28 8 1
Solution: Let A = 4
x f d = x – 4 fd fd 2 fd 3 fd 4
0 1 – 4 – 4 16 – 64 256
1 8 – 3 – 24 72 – 216 648
2 28 – 2 – 56 112 – 224 448
3 56 – 1 – 56 56 – 56 56

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 Moments

4 70 0 0 0 0 0 Notes
5 56 1 56 56 56 56
6 28 2 56 112 224 448
7 8 3 24 72 216 648
8 1 4 4 16 – 64 256
Σ f = Σ fd = 0 Σ fd2 = Σ fd3 = 0 Σ fd4 =
256 512 2816
Moments about the point A = 4 are

Moments about mean are

µ=
2 µ2′ − µ1′2 = 2
µ3′ 3µ2′ µ1′ + 2µ1′3 = 0
µ3 =−

µ4′ 4µ3′ µ1′ + 6µ2′ µ1′2 − 3µ1′4 = 11

µ4 =−
µ32
β=
1 = 0
µ23
µ4
β=
2 = 2.75
µ22

6.4 Normal Curve

What is a Normal Distribution
Normal distribution, also known as the Gaussian distribution, is a probabil-
ity distribution that is symmetric about the mean, showing that data near
the mean are more frequent in occurrence than data far from the mean.
In graphical form, the normal distribution appears as a “bell curve”.

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Notes

Graph Courtesy: Simply Psychology

Properties of the Normal Distribution

The normal distribution has several key features and properties that de-
fine it.
First, its mean (average), median (midpoint), and mode (most frequent
observation) are all equal to one another. Moreover, these values all
represent the peak, or highest point, of the distribution. The distribution
then falls symmetrically around the mean, the width of which is defined
by the standard deviation.
The Empirical Rule
For all normal distributions, 68.2% of the observations will appear within
plus or minus one standard deviation of the mean; 95.4% of the obser-
vations will fall within +/- two standard deviations; and 99.7% within
+/- three standard deviations. This fact is sometimes referred to as the
“empirical rule,” a heuristic that describes where most of the data in a
normal distribution will appear.

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 Moments

The Formula for the Normal Distribution Notes

The normal distribution follows the following formula. Note that only the
values of the mean (μ) and standard deviation (σ) are necessary
1 − 1 ( x−µ )2
f ( x) = e 2 σ
σ 2π
where,
x = value of the variable or data being examined and f(x) the probability
function
μ = the mean
σ = the standard deviation

6.5 Miscellaneous Questions

Example 12: Compute the first four moments about mean from the fol-
lowing data:
Mid Value 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Frequencies 8 15 20 32 23 17 5

Solution: Let A = 20
(x – 20)/5
x f = d fd1 f(d)2 f(d)3 f(d)4
5 8 -3 -24 72 -210 648
10 15 -2 -30 60 -124 240
15 20 -1 -20 20 -20 20
20 32 0 0 0 0 0
25 23 1 23 23 23 23
30 17 2 34 68 136 272
35 5 3 15 45 135 405
Σ fi = 0 Σ fi (d) = Σ fi (d)2 = Σ fi (d)3 = Σ fi (d)4 =
120 – 2 288 – 62 1608

Moments about arbitrary origin

1 7
−2
µ1′ =
h×
N
∑f d
i =1
i
1
5×
=
120
−0.083
=

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes 1 7
288
µ2′ =
h2 ×
N
∑f d
i =1
i
2
=25 ×
120
=60

1 7
−62
µ3′ =
h3 ×
N
∑f d
i =1
i
3
125 ×
=
120
−64.58
=

1 7
1608
µ4′ =h4 ×
N
∑f d
i =1
i
4
625 ×
=
120
8375
=

µ1 = 0
µ=
2 µ2′ − µ1′2 = 60 – (–0.083)2 = 59.993
µ3′ 3µ2′ µ1′ + 2µ1′3
µ3 =−
−64.583 − 3 ( −0.083)( 60 ) + 2 ( −0.083)
3
=
= –49.644
µ4′ 4µ3′ µ1′ + 6µ2′ µ1′2 − 2µ1′4
µ4 =−
= 8375 – 4(–0.083) (–64.583) + 6(–0.082)2(60) – 3(–0.083)4
= 8251.08
Example 13: Calculate the first four moments about the mean and com-
ment on the nature of the distribution:
x 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
f 1 6 13 25 30 22 9 5 2
Solution:
(x –5)
x f fx = d fd fd2 fd3 fd4
1 1 1 -4 -4 16 -64 256
2 6 12 -3 -18 54 -162 486
3 13 39 -2 -26 52 -104 208
4 25 100 -1 -25 25 -25 25
5 30 150 0 0 0 0 0
6 22 132 1 22 22 22 22
7 9 63 2 18 36 72 144
8 5 40 3 15 45 135 405
9 2 18 4 8 32 128 512
Σ f= Σ fx= Σ fi (d) Σ fi (d)2 = Σ fi (d)3 Σ fi (d)4 =
113 555 = – 10 282 = 2 2058

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 Moments

1 9
555 Notes
Mean =
N
∑ f=
i xi
i =1
= 4.91
113
1 9
−10
∑ f ( x=
− 5)
1
=µ1′ i i
N i =1 113

1 9
282
∑ f ( x=
− 5)
2
=µ2′ i i
N i =1 113

1 9
2
∑ f ( x=
− 5)
3
=µ3′ i i
N i =1 113

1 9
2058
∑ f ( x=
− 5)
4
=µ4′ i i
N i =1 113
µ1 = 0
282  −10 2
µ= µ ′ µ ′ 2
= −
2 2 − 1 113   = 2.496 – 0.0078 = 2.488
 113 
3
2  282   −10   −10 
µ3′ − 3µ2′ µ1′ + 2µ1′ = − 3 
µ3 = 3
  + 2 
113  113   113   113 
= 0.017699 + 0.662542 + 0.015663
= 0.69590
µ4′ 4µ3′ µ1′ + 6µ2′ µ1′2 − 2µ1′4
µ4 =−
2 4
2058  2  −10   282  −10   −10 
= − 4   + 6   − 3 
113  113  113   113  113   113 
= 18.212 + 0.00626 + 0.111726 – 0.00018399
= 18.335
µ32 0.695902 0.484277
β1 skewness
= = = = = 0.03144
µ23 2.4883 15.40108

µ4 18.335 18.335
β 2 kurtosis
= = = = = 2.96
µ22 2.4882 6.19

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Notes Since β1 > 0 the distribution is positively skewed

Since β 2 < 3 the distribution is platykurtic.
Example 14: For a group of 20 items, = 144280 and
mode = 63.7. Find the Pearsonian coefficient of skewness.
Solution:
Mean − Mode
Pearsonian coefficient of skewness = Sk =
S .D.
Mean =

ÓX 2 144280
−( X =
)
2
− ( 72.6 ) = 44.08
2
S.D. =
N 20
Hence,
72.6 − 63.7
Sk = = 0.202
44.08
Example 15: Calculate the Karl Pearson’s coefficient of skewness from
the following data:
Size (x) 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.5 9.5
Frequency (f) 3 7 22 60 85 32 8
Solution:
x f x – 6.5 = d fd fd2
3.5 3 -3 -9 27
4.5 7 -2 -14 28
5.5 22 -1 -22 22
6.5 60 0 0 0
7.5 85 1 85 85
8.5 32 2 64 128
9.5 8 3 24 72
Σ f = 217 0 Σ fd = 128 Σ f d = 362
2

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Mean − Mode Notes

Karl Pearson’s coefficient of skewness = Sk =
S .D.
Here, A = 6.5, N = 217
Ófd 128
Mean = A + =6.5 + =6.5 + 0.59 =7.09
N 217

S.D. = = 1.149

By inspection, mode is 7.5, the size with maximum frequency

Hence,
7.09 −7.5
Sk = = –0.357
1.149
Since Sk < 0 hence distribution is negatively skewed.
Example 16: Compute Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness from the data
given below:
Marks 35-36 36-37 37-38 38-39 40-41 41-42 42-43
No. of Students 14 20 42 54 45 21 8
Solution:
No. of Persons Cumulative Fre-
Marks (f ) quency (c.f.)
35 – 36 14 14
36 – 37 20 34
37 – 38 42 76
38 – 39 54 130
40 – 41 45 175
41 – 42 21 196
42 – 43 8 204
Here N = 204
th
N
Q1 = size of   item = 51th item. Hence Q1 lies in the class 37 – 38
4

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Notes N   204 
 −cf   − 34 
4  × i =37 +  4
Q1 =l +   1
()
f 42
= 37.405
th
 3N 
Q3 = size of   item = 153 item.
th

 4 
Hence Q3 will lie in the class 40 – 41

 3N   3 ( 204 ) 
 −cf   − 130 
 4  × i =40 +  4  1
Q3 =l + ()
f 45
= 40 + 0.511
= 40.511
th
N
Median = size of   item = 102th item. Hence median will lie in the
class 38 – 39. 2

N   204 
 −cf   − 76 
2  × i =38 +  2
Median =l +   1
()
f 54

= 38 + 0.48
= 38.48
Now,
Q3 + Q1 − 2 Median
Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness =
Q3 − Q1

40.511 +37.405 −2 ( 38.48 )

= = 0.307
40.511 − 37.405
Example 17: Compute Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness from the data
given below:
Income (Rs.) Below 200-400 400-600 600- 800- Above
200 800 1000 1000
No. of Persons 25 40 80 75 20 16

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Solution: Notes
No. of Air Persons Cumulative
Income (Rs.) (f) Frequency (c.f.)
Below 200 25 25
200-400 40 65
400-600 80 145
600-800 75 220
800-1000 20 240
Above 1000 16 256
Here N = 256
th
N
Q1 = size of   item = 64th item. Hence Q1 lies in the class 200-400
4

N   256 
 −cf   − 25 
4  ×i = 200 +  4
Q1 = l +   200
( )
f 40
= 200 + 195 = 395
th
3N 
Q3 = size of   item = 192th item. Hence Q3 will lie in the class
600-800  4 

 3N   3 ( 256 ) 
 −cf   − 145 
 4  ×i = 600 +  4  200
Q3 = l + ( )
f 75
600 + 125.33 =
= 725.33
th
N
median = size of   item = 128th item. Hence median will lie in the
2
class 400 – 600.  
N   256 
 −cf   − 65 
2  × i = 400 +  2
Median =l +   200
( )
f 80
=400 + 157.5 =557.5

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Notes Now,
Q3 + Q1 − 2 Median
Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness =
Q3 − Q1

725.33 +395 −2 ( 557.5 )

= = 0.016
725.33 − 395
Example 18: For a distribution, mean = 10, variance = 16, γ1 = +1, β2.
= 4. Obtain the first four moments about the origin.
Solution:
We have,
Mean = 10, variance = 16, γ1 = +1, β2. = 4
The first moment about zero = μ′1 = mean = 10
The second moment about mean = μ2 = variance = 16
Second moment about zero = μ′2 = μ2 + (μ′1)2 = 16 + (10)2 = 116
Now
γ 1 = + β1

Or γ 12 = β1
12 = β1
Or β1 = 1
µ32
Also, β1 =
µ23

1 = µ3
2

163

Or µ32 = 4096
⇒ µ3 =
64

Hence, third moment about origin is μ′3 = μ3 + 3μ′2 μ′1 – 2 (μ′1)3

= 64 + 3 (116) (10) – 2 (10)3 = 64 + 3480 – 2000 = 1544
We have β 2 = 4
µ4
Therefore, β=
2 = 4
µ22

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 Moments

Notes
Or µ4 = µ2 = 4(16)2 =1024
2

Now, fourth moment about zero = µ4′

= µ4 + 4 µ3′ µ1′ − 6 µ2′ µ1′ + 3µ1′
2 4

= 1024 + 4(1544)(10) – 6(116)(10)2 + 3(10)4

= 1024 + 61760 – 69600 + 30000
= 23184
Example 19: The daily expenditure of 100 families is given below:
Daily Expenditure 0 - 20 20 - 40 40 - 60 60 - 80 80 - 100
No. of Families 13 ? 27 ? 16
If the mode of the distribution is 44, calculate the Karl Pearson coeffi-
cient of skewness
Solution: First, we calculate the missing frequencies
Mid Value No. of Families
Daily Expenditure (x) (f)
0 – 20 10 13
20 – 40 30 x
40 – 60 50 27
60 – 80 70 y
80 – 100 90 16
N = 100
Since mode is 44
Therefore, modal class is 40 – 60
Thus, f1 = 27, f0 = x, f2 = y, l = 40, h = 20
Now we know mode is given by
f1 − f 0
Mo =
l+ ×h
2 f1 − f 0 − f 2

27 − x
44 =
40 + ×20
2 ( 27 ) − x − y

44 − 40 27 − x
=
20 54 − x − y

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Notes 1 27 − x
=
5 54 − x − y

Or 54 – x – y = 5(27 – x)
Or 54 – x – y = 135 – 5x
Or 4x – y = 81 ------ *
Also total frequency = N = 100
Thus, 13 + x + 27 + y + 16 = 100
Or x + y = 44 ------ **
Solving * and **, we get
x = 25 and y = 19
Now, we calculate Karl Pearson coefficient of skewness
Daily Mid f (x – 50)/20 fd fd2
Expenditure Value (x) = d
0 - 20 10 13 -2 -26 52
20 – 40 30 25 -1 -25 25
40 – 60 50 27 0 0 0
60 – 80 70 19 1 19 19
80 – 100 90 16 2 32 64
Σ f= Σ fd = 0 Σ f d2 =
100 160
Mean − Mode
Karl Pearson’s coefficient of skewness = Sk =
S .D.
Here, A = 6.5, N = 100
Ófd 0
Mean = A + = 50 + × 20 = 50 + 0 = 50
N 100
2 2
Ófd 2  Ófd  160  0 
S.D. = i × i × − 20
 =× −  = 25.2
N  N  100  100 
Mode = 44
Hence,
50 − 44
Sk = = 0.238
25.2
Since Sk > 0 hence distribution is positively skewed.
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 Moments

Notes
6.6 Exercise
1. Calculate first four moments about the mean, for the following
individual series:
5 5 5 5 5 5
2. Find the first four moments about the mean of the following series:
1 3 7 9 10
3. If the first four moments of a distribution about the value 5 are equal
to –4, 22, –117 and 560. Determine the corresponding moments:
About the (i) mean, and (ii) about zero
4. Compute first four moments of the data 3, 5, 7, 9 about the mean.
Also, compute the first four moments about the point
5. Calculate Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Skewness from the data given
below:
1. S.D. = 6.5, mean = 29.6, mode = 27.52.
2. Mean = 100, Variance = 35, Median = 99.61.
3. Mean = 45, Median = 48, S.D. = 22.5.
6. Find the Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Skewness for the following:
Years Under 10 20 30 40 50 60

No. of Persons 15 32 51 78 97 109

7. Calculate Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Skewness from the following

data:
Cost per Item 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.5 9.5 10.5 11.5
(in Rs.)
No. of Items 35 40 48 100 125 87 43 22
8. The data for a distribution is given below Q1 = 8.6, Median = 12.3,
Q3 = 14.04. Calculate Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness.
9. In a routine checkup the weights of the students of government
school were noted as follows:
Weights 55–58 58–61 61–64 64–67 67–70
No. of Students 12 17 23 18 11

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 IT SKILLS AND DATA ANALYSIS-I

Notes Calculate the Bowley’s Coefficient of Skewness.

10. Calculate the first four moments about the mean and also the value
of skewness and Kurtosis from the following table.
x 25 35 45 55 65 75 85
f 5 14 20 25 17 11 8
11. Calculate the first four moments about the mean from the following
data:
x 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
f 5 10 15 20 25 20 15 10 5
Also, calculate the values of skewness and Kurtosis and comment
on the nature of the distribution.
12. Analyse the frequency distribution by the method of moments:
x 2 3 4 5 6
f 1 3 7 3 1
13. In a distribution the difference of two quartiles is 2.63, their sum is
62.55 and the median is 36.03. Find the coefficient of skewness.
14. From the information given below calculate Karl Pearson’s and
Bowley’s coefficient of skewness
Mean =150; Median = 142; S.D. = 30; Third Quartile = 195; First
Quartile = 62
15. Find the coefficient of skewness from the following information:
Difference of two quartiles = 8, Mode = 11, Mean = 8, sum of two
quartiles = 22
16. Pearson’s coefficient of skewness for a data distribution is 0.5 and
coefficient of variation is 40%. Its mode is 80. Find the mean and
the median of the distribution.
17. The following data are given to an economist for the purpose of
economic analysis. The data refer to the length of a sample of
Good Year Tyres. Do you think the distribution is symmetric and
platykurtic?

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 Moments

18. Given the following information, find the first four central moments Notes

19. Calculate Bowley’s coefficient of skewness from the following data

and comment on the value:
Age (Yrs.) No. of Employees Age (Yrs.) No. of Employees
Below 20 13 35 – 40 72
20 – 25 29 40 – 45 94
25 – 30 46 45 – 50 45
30 – 35 60 50 – 55 21
20. The mean, mode and Quartile deviation of a distribution are 42,
36 and 15 respectively. If its Bowley’s coefficient of skewness is
1/3, find the values of the two quartiles.
21. Find the four moments about mean from the following data. Also
decide whether it is a platykurtic distribution.
Size of the Item 1 2 3 4 5
Frequency 2 3 5 4 1
22. For a distribution, the mean is 10, standard deviation is 4, β1 = 1,
and β2 = 4. Obtain the first four moments about 4. Comment upon
the nature of the distribution.

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