1 Measures of Central Tendency

Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of
Central
Tendency
• The numerical value of an
observation (also called
central value) around
which most numerical
values of other
observations in the data
set show a tendency to
cluster or group.
Arithmetic Mean- Example 3.1
• In a survey of 5 cement companies, the profit (in Rs. lakh) earned during a year was 15,
20, 10, 35, and 32. Find the arithmetic mean of the profit earned.
Solution:
Example 3.2:
• If A, B, C, and D are four chemicals costing Rs. 15, Rs. 12, Rs. 8 and Rs. 5 per 100 g,
respectively, and are contained in a given compound in the ratio of 1, 2, 3, and 4 parts,
respectively, then what should be the price of the resultant compound.
Solution:
Example 3.3:
• The number of new orders received by a company over the last 25 working days were
recorded as follows: 3, 0, 1, 4, 4, 4, 2, 5, 3, 6, 4, 5, 1, 4, 2, 3, 0, 2, 0, 5, 4, 2, 3, 3, 1.
Calculate the arithmetic mean for the number of orders received over all similar working
days.
Solution:
Solution(wrong):
Example 3.4:
From the following information on the number of defective components in 1000 boxes;
Solution:
Example 3.5:
• The daily earnings (in rupees) of employees working on a daily basis in
a firm are:
• Calculate the average daily earning for all employees.

Solution:
194.51
Example 3.7:
• A company is planning to improve plant safety. For this, accident data
for the last 50 weeks was compiled. These data are grouped into the
frequency distribution as shown below. Calculate the A.M. of the
number of accidents per week.
Solution:
Example 3.9:
• The following distribution gives the pattern of overtime work done by
100 employees of a company. Calculate the average overtime work
done per employee.
Solution:
Example • An examination was held to decide the awarding of a
scholarship. The weights of various subjects were
different. The marks obtained by 3 candidates (out of
3.21: 100 in each subject) are given below:
Solution:
Median
• If the number of observations (n) is an

odd number, then the median (Med) is
represented by the numerical value
corresponding to the positioning point
of (n + 1)/2 ordered observation.
• If the number of observations (n) is an
even number, then the median is
defined as the arithmetic mean of the
numerical values of n/2th and (n/2 +
1)th observations in the data array.
Example 3.47:
• Calculate the median of the

following data that relates to the
service time (in minutes) per
customer for 7 customers at a
railway reservation counter: 3.5,
4.5, 3, 3.8, 5.0, 5.5, 4.
Solution:
Example 3.48:
• Calculate the median of the following data that relates to the number
of patients examined per hour in the outpatient ward (OPD) in a
hospital: 10, 12, 15, 20, 13, 24, 17, 18.
Solution:
Grouped Data
Example
Solution
MODE
• The mode is that value of an observation which occurs most
frequently in the data set, that is, the point (or class mark)
with the highest frequency.
Example 3.58: Calculate the
mode:
Solution:
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEAN, MEDIAN,
AND MODE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
MEAN, MEDIAN, AND MODE
• A distribution that is not symmetrical, but rather has most of
its values either to the right or to the left of the mode, is said
to be skewed.
• For such asymmetrical distribution, Karl Pearson has
suggested a relationship between these three measures of
central tendency as:
Mean – Mode = 3 (Mean – Median)
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEAN,
MEDIAN, AND MODE
If most of the values of observations in a distribution fall to the right of the mode, then it is said to be skewed
to the right or positively skewed.
Distributions that are skewed right contain a few unusually large values of observations.
In this case, mode remains under the peak (i.e., representing highest frequency) but the median (value that
depends on the number of observations) and mean move to the right (value that is affected by extreme
values). The order of magnitude of these measures will be Mean > Median > Mode
But if the distribution is skewed to the left or negatively skewed (i.e., values of lower magnitude are
concentrated more to the left of the mode) then mode is again under the peak whereas median and mean
move to the left of mode. The order of magnitude of these measures will be Mean < Median < Mode
Assignment Questions
4.1 A sample of 12 people was asked how much change they had in their pockets and wallets. The
responses (in cents) are 52 25 15 0 104 44 60 30 33 81 40 5 Determine the mean, median, and
mode for these data.
4.2 The number of sick days due to colds and flu last year was recorded by a sample of 15 adults.
The data are 5 7 0 3 15 6 5 9 3 8 10 5 2 0 12 Compute the mean, median, and mode.
4.3 A random sample of 12 joggers was asked to keep track and report the number of miles they ran
last week. The responses are 5.5 7.2 1.6 22.0 8.7 2.8 5.3 3.4 12.5 18.6 8.3 6.6 a. Compute the three
statistics that measure central location. b. Briefly describe what each statistic tells you.
4.4 The midterm test for a statistics course has a time limit of 1 hour. However, like most statistics
exams this one was quite easy. To assess how easy, the professor recorded the amount of time
taken by a sample of nine students to hand in their test papers. The times (rounded to the nearest
minute) are 33 29 45 60 42 19 52 38 36
a. Compute the mean, median, and mode.
b. What have you learned from the three statistics calculated in part (a)?
Assignment Questions
4.27 Calculate the variance of the following sample. 9 3 7 4 1 7 5 4
4.28 Calculate the variance of the following sample. 4 5 3 6 5 6 5 6
4.29 Determine the variance and standard deviation of the following sample. 12 6 22
21 23 13 15 17 21
4.30 Find the variance and standard deviation of the following sample. 0 −5 −3 6 4 −4
1 −5 0 3
4.35 A set of data whose histogram is bell shaped yields a mean and standard
deviation of 50 and 4, respectively. Approximately what proportion of observations
a. Are between 46 and 54?
b. Are between 42 and 58?
c. Are between 38 and 62?

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Measures of Central Tendency

• Calculate the average daily earning for all employees.

• If the number of observations (n) is an

• Calculate the median of the

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