CHAPTER 3:

MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

Objectives:
At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:
a. Employ summation and apply operations involving the summation;
b. Compute and interpret the different measures of central tendency and
location;
c. Compare the different measures of central tendency and location;
d. Recognize the advantage and disadvantages of each measure of
average;
e. Make generalizations from a given set of data;
f. Use measures of average in making predictions and decisions; and,
g. Apply their knowledge to real life situations;
1.1
Summation Notation
Suppose that a variable X is a variable of interest, and that n
X1 , X2 , X3, . , Xn
measurements are taken. The notation
will be used to
represent the n observations.
Let the Greek letter

indicate the summation of, thus we can

write the sum of the observations as:

n

X i=X 1 + X 2+ X 3+ + X n
i=1

The numbers 1 and n are called the lower and upper limits of
summation, respectively.
Example: Write out the following in full, that is, without summation signs:
6

1. X i
i =1

2. X i Y i
i=1

3. X i
i=4

4. ( X i +Y 2)
i=2

Rules on Summation
Rule # 1: The summation notation is distributive over addition.
n

i=1

i=1

i=1

( X i+ Y i )= X i+ Y i
n

i=1

i=1

i=1

i=1

( ai+ bi +..+ z i )= ai+ bi +..+ z i

Rule # 2: If c is a constant, then
n

i=1

i=1

cx i =c x i
Rule #3: If c is a constant, then
n

c =nc
i=1

Examples:
A. Use the rules on summation to write out the expansion of the given
expression:
4

(2 x i +4 )
i=1

B. Write each of the following expressions in summation with appropriate

limits.
1. Z 6 +Z 7 +Z 8+Z 9
2. ( w15 ) + ( w 25 ) +(w 35)
3.3 X 3+3 X 4 +3 X 5
C. Given:

X 1=2, X 2=3, X 3 =1

Y 1=1, Y 2=1,Y 3 =0
Find the value of the following expressions:
3

1. X i
i =1

2. X i Y i
i=1

i=1

i=1

3. X i Y i

4.
i=1

X i+1
Yi

( )

Exercise 3.1
Evaluate the following:
X 1=4, X 2=3, X 3=2, X 4 =1

1. Given:
4

a . X 2i ( X i3)
i=1

b . ( X i+1)

i=2

X 1=2, X 2=3, X 3 =1,Y 1 =4, Y 2=0, Y 3=5

2. Given:
3

a . X i Y 2i
i=1

b . (3 X i +Y i 4)
i=2

X 1=2, X 2=3, X 3=1, Y 1=2, Y 2=5,Y 3=5

3. Given:
3

a . ( X 2i + 2 X i Y i +Y 2i )
i=1

b . X i (Y i4)
i=1

3.2 Measures of Central Tendency

In statistics, an average is a measure of central tendency. It is a
single number that represents a set of data.
Definition: A measure of central tendency is any single value that is
used to identify the center of the data or the typical value. It is often
referred to as the average.
3.2.1 The Arithmetic Mean
The most common average and sometimes simply referred to
as the mean
The sum of all the values of the observations divided by the
number of observations
Denoted by a Greek letter (mu) for population
the sample mean, used to estimate the population mean , is
computed as:
n

( )

x =

Xi

/n

i=1

Examples:
1. The numbers of employees at 5 different stores are 4, 8, 10, 12, and 6.
Find the mean number of employees for the 5 stores.
Solution:
5

( )
Xi

x =

i=1

4 +8+10+12+6 40
= =8
5
5

The mean number of employees for the 5 storesis 8.

2. Scores in Algebra for the first long quiz for a sample of 10 students are
as follows: 84, 75, 90, 98, 88, 79, 95, 86, 93, and 89.
Solution:

84+ 75+90+98+ 88+79+95+ 86+93+89

=87.7
10

Therefore ,the average score is 87.7

3.2.2 The Median
The positional middle of an array
In an array, one-half of the values precede the median and
one-half follow it
If N is odd:
d =X (N +1)
2

If N is even:
XN+XN
d =

+1

Example: Find the median of the given data set: 75, 75, 67, 71, 72
Solution:
X 1=67, X 2=71, X 3=72, X 4 =75, X 5=75
d =X (5 +1) = X 3=72
2

The average ( median ) is 72.

3.2.3 The Mode
It is the observed value that occurs most frequently.
It locates the point where the observation values occur with
the greatest density.
It does not always exist, and if it does, it may not be unique. A
data set is said to be unimodal if there is only one mode,
bimodal if there are two modes, trimodal if there are three
modes, and so on.

 It is not affected by extreme values.

It can be used for qualitative as well as quantitative data.
Examples:
Identify the mode(s) of the following data sets.
Data Set 1.
2

Red

Green

Data Set 2.
2

Data Set 3.
1

Data Set 4.
Red
Blue
Orange

Blue WhiteYellow

Blue

Name:_________________________________
Score:___________________
Course/Year/Section:_____________________
Teacher:_________________
Exercise 3.2
1. The grades of a student on seven examinations were 85, 96, 72, 89,
95, 82 and 85. Find the students average grade.
2. The salaries of 4 employees were P12,000, P10,000, P15,000 and
P18,000. What is the average salary?
3. Out of 100 numbers, 20 were 5s, 40 were 4s, 35 were 6s and 5 were
2s. Find the mean.
4. Find the median of the set of numbers:
5
3
7
3
8
2
1
5. Find the median of the set of numbers:
11

25

18

79

12

13

6. A student received grades of 89, 72, 92 and 35. What is the mode of
the given grades?

7. The reaction times of an individual to certain stimuli were measured by

a psychologist to be 0.23, 0.52, 0.25, 0.52, 0.26, 0.25, 0.39, and 0.22
seconds. Determine the modes of the given reaction times.
8. The numbers of incorrect answers on a true-false test for 15 students
were recorded as follows:
2, 1, 3, 0, 1, 3, 6, 0, 3, 3, 5, 2, 1, 4, 2.
Find the mean, median and mode.
9. The following are the response times in seconds of a smoke alarm after
the release of smoke from a fixed source: 12, 9, 11, 7, 9, 14, 6,10. Find
the mode.
10. A bridge is designed to carry a maximum load of 150,000 pounds. Is
the bridge overloaded if it is carrying 18 vehicles having a mean
weight of 4,630 pounds?
11. For three rounds of golf Peter scores 88, 79, and 82. What fourthround score would he need to reduce his mean score to 81 for all
rounds?
12. The average IQ of 10 students in Math is 114. If 9 of the students
have IQ scores of 101, 118, 128, 106, 115, 99, 118, 109 and 125. What
must be the other IQ?

3.3 Measures of Location or Fractiles

Measures of location or fractiles are values below which a specified
fraction or percentage of the observations in a given set must fall.
3.3.1 Percentiles
Percentiles are values that divide a set of observations in an array
P1
into 100 equal parts. Thus,
, read as first percentile, is the value
below which 1% of the values fall,

P2

, read as second percentile, is the

value below which 2% of the values fall,..,

P99

, read as ninety-ninth

percentile, is the value below which 99% of the values fall.

Formula:

i(n+1) th
Pi=the value of the
observationthe array
100

Example: The following were the scores of 10 students in a short quiz:

2

10

10

Find the 64th percentile.

Solution: First, arrange the data from lowest to highest.
1

64 (10+1)
P64=
100

10

10

th

observation = 7.04 or the 8th observation

Therefore ,the 64 th percentile is 9, which isinterpreted as :64 of the scores are below 9.
Other forms of fractiles:
3.3.2 Deciles
Deciles are values that divide the array into 10 equal parts. Thus,
D1

, read as first decile, is the value below which 10% of the values fall,

D2

, read as second decile, is the value which 20% of the values fall,,

D9

, read as ninth decile, is the value below which 90% of the values

fall.
Formula:
D i is the value of the

i ( n+1 )
10

th

) observationthe array

Example: From the given set of scores in a quiz, find the 4th decile or
3

11

12

18

D4 .

19

Solution: Since the data is already arranged from lowest to highest then we
may proceed in finding the 4th decile.

D4 =

4 (7 +1 )
10

11

12

th

18

19

) observation=3.2the 4 observation
th

Therefore ,the 4th decile is11, this implies that :40 of the scoresthe quiz are below 11.
3.3.3 Quartiles
Quartiles are values that divide the array into 4 equal parts. Thus,
Q1

, read as first quartile, is the value below which 25% of the values

fall,..,

Q3

, read as third quartile, is the value which 75% of the values fall.

Example: From the given set of scores in a quiz, find the 3rd quartile or
3

11

12

18

Q3

19

Solution: Since the data is already arranged in ascending order, then we may
proceed in finding the 3rd quartile.
3
Q 3=

11

12

18

19

3 (7+1) th
observation=6 th observation
4

Therefore ,the 3rd quartileis 18, this implies that : 75 of the scoresthe quiz are below 18.

Name:_________________________________
Score:___________________

Course/Year/Section:_____________________
Teacher:_________________
Exercise 3.3
1. A psychologist obtained the IQ scores of 10 students. The IQ scores are
as follows:
110 95
85
140 132 100 95
70
85
100
P65 , D 3 , D 9 ,Q3.
Find
Interpret the values.
2. The number of absences in a semester of 25 randomly selected
students were obtained by a teacher: The number of absences were as
follows:
3
5
2
6
3
8
2
3
6
2
1
3
8
5
2
1
3
1
0
2
0
1
2
0
0
Q2 , P95 ,D2 .
Find
Interpret the results.

CHAPTER 4:

MEASURES OF DISPERSION
Objectives:
At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

Compute and interpret the different measures of dispersion;

Compare the different measures of dispersion;
Relate the measure of central tendency to the measure of dispersion;
Discuss the characteristics of the samples based on their measures of
dispersion
Recognize the advantages and disadvantages of each measure of
dispersion
Make generalizations from a given set of data;
Use measures of average and spread in making predictions and
decisions;
Apply their knowledge to real life situations.

Measures of Dispersion indicate the extent to which individual items in a

series are scattered about an average. It is used to determine the extent of
the scatter so that steps may be taken to control the existing variation. It is
also used as measure of reliability of the average value.
General Classifications of Measures of Dispersion
1. Measures of Absolute Dispersion
2. Measures of Relative Dispersion
4.1 Measures of Absolute Dispersion
The measures of absolute dispersion are expressed in the units of the original
observations. They cannot be used to compare variations of two data sets when the
averages of these data sets differ a lot in value or when the observations differ in
units of measurement.
4.1.1 The Range
The range of a set of measurement s is the difference between the largest and
smallest values.

R=maximum valueminimum value

Example:

The IQ scores of 5 members of the Morales family are 108, 112, 127, 116, and 113.
Find the range.
4.1.2 The Standard Deviation and Variance
For a finite population of size N, the population variance is

i
X

/N

i=1
2

=
And the population standard deviation is

i
X

/N
N

i=1

=
The population variance

2 , can be estimated by the sample variance

s2 ,

where

X ix

/(n1)
n

i=1

s2=
And the population standard deviation can be estimated by the sample
standard deviation s, where

X ix

/(n1)
i=1

s=

Example:
A sample of 5 households showed the following number of household
members: 3, 8, 5, 4, and 4. Find the standard deviation.
4.2 Measures of Relative Dispersion
Measures of Relative Dispersion are unitless and are used when one
wishes to compare the scatter of one distribution with another distribution.
4.2.1 Coefficient of Variation
The coefficient of variation, CV, is the ratio of the standard deviation to
the mean and is usually expressed in percentage. It is computed as

s
CV = x 100 CV = x 100

Name:_________________________________
Score:___________________
Course/Year/Section:_____________________
Teacher:_________________
Exercise 4.1
1. Find the range of the following data sets:
Data set a: 15, 16, 7, 5, 14, 10
Data set b: 110, 125, 98, 85, 62, 100
2. Find the standard deviation of each set in #1.
3. On a final examination in Statistics, the average grade of 100 students
of DS School was 80 and the standard deviation was 8. In another

school, DF School, the average grade of 120 students was 75. And the
standard deviation was 7.9. In which school was there a greater
a. Absolute deviation
b. Relative deviation
4. Find the coefficient of variation of each set in #3.
5. On 16 days, a restaurant had the following numbers of orders for
chicken and steak:
Chicken:
46
55
43
48
54
65
36
40
51
53
64
32
41
46
53
47
Steak:
39
41
25
30
46
36
37
23
30
33
50
44
41
28
35
37
Calculate the mean, median, mode, standard deviation, variance and
CV and determine which item the number of order is relatively more
variable.