Chapter Three

3. Measure of Central Tendency

3.1 Summation Notation

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Instructor: Yohannes D. (PhD Cand.)
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Instructor: Yohannes D. (PhD Cand.)
3.1.1 Rules of Summation Notation

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In genera:

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Examples:

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Instructor: Yohannes D. (PhD Cand.)
Example:

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Instructor: Yohannes D. (PhD Cand.)
3.2 Mean, Median, Mode

3.2.1. Mean

There are many type of mean such as arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean etc.

Arithmetic mean: It the sum of all observation divided by the total number. Let x1, x2, x3,
x4, … xn be set of data then arithmetic mean becomes

Geometric Mean: It is denoted by G.M. If x1, x2, …, xn are given data then the geometric
mean GM given by

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Instructor: Yohannes D. (PhD Cand.)
Weighted Mean: It is denoted by W and can be calculated by

𝑤1𝑥1+𝑤2𝑥2+ ...+𝑤𝑛𝑥𝑛
W=
𝑤1+𝑤2+⋯+𝑤𝑛

It is applied to calculate the GPA of the students in higher educational institutes

Example: Calculate the GPA of Aster.

Courses Stat Math’s Programing Accounting

Solution: Let xi denoted the grades and wi denoted the Cr.H, then

𝑤1𝑥1+𝑤2𝑥2+𝑤3𝑥3 +𝑤4𝑥4
GPA (W) =
𝑤1+𝑤2+𝑤3+𝑤4
3∗3+4∗3+3.5∗4+4∗2
= 3.58
3+3+4+2

3.2.2. Median
It is the value which divided the set of data into two equal parts after arranging in order of
magnitude. It is denoted by X. There are two situations to calculate the median of the given data
set.

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Instructor: Yohannes D. (PhD Cand.)
 𝑛+1 th
i. If the given data set (the number of observation) is odd then, ( ) value is the median of
2
the given data set.

𝑛 𝑛
( )𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒+( +1)𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
2 2
ii. If the given data set even is the median.
2

Example: Calculate the median of the 46 student test result.

Value 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
frequency 1 2 3 6 11 10 7 3 2 1
Cumulative 1 3 6 12 23 33 40 43 45 46
frequency

Solution: since the number of observation is even

46 46
( )𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒+( )𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
2 2
Median =
2
23𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒+24𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 13+14
Median = = = 13.5 is the median
2 2

3.2.3. Mode
The mode of an observation is the value that occurs the largest number of time. A set of data may
no mode, may have one mode (unimodal), have two modes (bimodal) and so on.

Example: Find the mode of the following data

a). 77, 81, 75, 59, 77, 80, 82, 83 and 77;
b). 4, 6, 7, 15, 20, 21 and 8
c). 3, 4, 8, 4, 6, 9, 2 and 3

Solution:
a). the mode is 77 and it is unimodal
b). it has no mode
c). the modes are 3 and 4 and the data set is bimodal

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Instructor: Yohannes D. (PhD Cand.)
 Summery for the measure of location
Mean
1. It is the arithmetic average of the measurements in a data set.
2. There is only one mean for a data set.
3. Its value is influenced by extreme measurements.
4. Means of subsets can be combined to determine the mean of the complete data set.
5. It is applicable to quantitative data only.

Median
1. It is the central value; 50% of the measurements lie above it and 50% fall below it.
2. There is only one median for a data set.
3. It is not influenced by extreme measurements.
4. Medians of subsets cannot be combined to determine the median of the complete data set.
5. For grouped data, its value is rather stable even when the data are organized into different
categories.
6. It is applicable to quantitative data only.

Mode
1. It is the most frequent or probable measurement in the data set.
2. There can be more than one mode for a data set.
3. It is not influenced by extreme measurements.
4. Modes of subsets cannot be combined to determine the mode of the complete data set.
5. For grouped data its value can change depending on the categories used.
6. It is applicable for both qualitative and quantitative data.

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Instructor: Yohannes D. (PhD Cand.)