MEASURES OF

CENTRAL TENDENCY
LESSON 2
 WHAT IS A MEASURE OF CENTRAL TENDENCY?

Commonly referred to as an average, is a single value that represents

a data set. Its purpose is to locate the center of the data set.

REMEMBER THE 3
M'S? 😃
 MEAN
• The arithmetic mean, often called as the mean, is the
most frequently used measure of central tendency. The
mean is the only measure in which all values plays an
equal role meaning to determine its values you would
need to consider all the values of any given data set.
The mean is appropriate to determine the central
tendency of an interval or ratio data.

( x bar ) = used to represent a sample.

μ = used to denote the mean of a population.

A. Properties of Mean

1. A set of data has only one mean.

2. Mean can be applied for interval or ratio data.

3. All values in the data set are included in computing the mean

4. The mean is very useful in comparing two or more data sets.

5. Mean is affected by the extreme small or large values on the

data set.

6. The mean cannot be computed for the data in a frequency

distribution with an open-ended class.

7. Mean is most appropriate in symmetrical data.

B. Mean for Ungrouped Data :

Mean = Sum of all values / Number of Values

Sample Mean :

Where : = sample Mean ( it is "x bar")

x = the value of any particular observations or

measurement.

= sum of all x's.

n = total number of values in the sample.

 Population Mean:

μ= Where:

μ = population Mean ( it is read "mu" )

x = the value of any particular observations or
measurement.

= sum of all x's.

N = total number of values in the population.

Example 1: The daily rates (in peso) of a sample of eight
employees at GMS Inc. are 550, 420, 560, 500, 700, 670,
860, 480. Find the mean daily rate of employee.

Solution: =

The sample Mean daily salary of employees is 592.50.

Example 2: Find the population mean of the ages of 9 middle-
management employees of a certain company. The ages are 53, 45, 59,
48, 54, 46, 51, 58 and 55.

Solution:

μ=

The mean population age of middle-management

employee is 52.11.
Sample Mean for Grouped Data

Sample Mean:

Where: = sample Mean

= frequency

X = the value of any particular observations or

measurement.

= sum of all products of f and x's.

n = total number of values in the sample.

Population Mean:

μ
Where: μ = population

f = frequency

x= the value of any particular observations or

measurement.

= sum of all the products of f and x's.

N = total number of values in the population.

Example:

SJS Travel Agency, a nationwide local travel

agency, offers special rates on summer
period. The owner wants additional
information on the ages of those people
taking travel tours. A random sample of 50
customers taking travel tours last summer
revealed these ages.
18 29 42 57 61 67 37 49 53 47

24 34 45 58 63 70 39 51 54 48

28 36 46 60 66 77 40 52 56 49

19 31 44 58 62 68 38 50 54 48

27 36 46 59 64 74 39 51 55 48
Class Limits Frequency (f)

18-26 3

27-35 5

36-44 9

45-53 14

54-62 11

63-71 6

72-80 2
• Solution:

Step 1: Determine the midpoints on each class

limit.

Step 2: Multiply each class frequency (f) with the

corresponding midpoint (x) to obtain the product
fx.

Step 3: Get the sum of product fx.

Step 4: Apply the formula to obtain the value of

the sample Mean.
Class Limits Frequency (f) Midpoints (x) fx

18-26 3 22 66

27-35 5 31 155

36-44 9 40 360

45-53 14 49 686

54-62 11 58 638

63-71 6 67 402

72-80 2 76 152

Total 50 --- = 2,459

 Thus, the mean age of the frequency
distribution of people taking travel is 49.18.
 MEDIAN
• Is the midpoint of the data array. When the data set is ordered
whether ascending or descending, it is called data array.
Properties of Median
1. The median is unique, there is only one median for a set of
data.
2. The median is found by arranging the set of data in
ascending or descending form and getting the value of the
middle observation.
3. Median is not affected by the extreme small or large values.
4. Median can be computed for ordinal, interval and ratio data.
5. Median is appropriate in a skewed data.
MEDIAN for UNGROUPED DATA

To determine the value of median for ungrouped

we need to consider two rules:

1. If n is odd, the median is the middle ranked.

2. If n is even, then the median is the average of

the two middle ranked values.

Median (Rank Value) = (n+1) / 2

Note that n is the population/sample size.

Example: Find the median of the ages of 9 middle-management
employees of a certain company. The ages are 53, 45, 59, 48, 54,
46, 51, 58 and 55.

Solution:

Step 1: Arrange the data in order.

45, 46, 48, 51, 53, 54, 55, 58, 59

Step 2: Select the middle rank using the formula

Step 3: Identify the median in the data set.

45, 46, 48, 51, 53, 54, 55, 58, 59

HENCE, THE MEDIAN

AGE IS 53 YEARS.
Example 2: The daily rates (in Peso) of a sample of eight employees at
GMS Inc. are 550, 420, 560, 500, 700, 670, 860, 480. Find the median
daily rate of employee.

Solution:

Step 1: Arrange the data in order.

420, 480, 500, 550, 560, 670, 700, 860

Step 2: Select the middle rank value using the formula

Step 3: Identify the median in the data set.

420, 480, 500, 550 560, 670, 700, 860

SINCE THE MIDDLE POINT FALLS

BETWEEN 550 AND 560, WE CAN
DETERMINE THE MEDIAN OF THE DATA
SET BY GETTING THE AVERAGE OF THE
TWO VALUES.
Therefore, the median daily rate is 555.
Median for Grouped Data

Take note that the median is located in the middle

value of the frequency distribution. It is the value that
separates the upper half of the distribution from the
lower half. It is also obvious to note that it is a
measure of central tendency because it is the exact
center of the scores in a distribution.

Median (Ranked Value)= N/2

Where: LB = lower boundary of the median class.

N = number of sample size (or population)

cf = cumulative frequency before the median class.

f = frequency of the median class.

i = interval.
 Using the example on SJS Travel Agency, determine the median
of the frequency distribution on the ages of 50 people taking
travel tours. Given the table

Class Limits f

18-26 3

27-35 5

36-44 9

45-53 14

54-62 11

63-71 6

72-80 2
Step 1: Determine the median class using the formula.

Step 2:Class Limits

Construct f
a cumulative frequency cf
column in he table.
18-26 3 3

27-35 5 8
36-44 9 17

45-53 14 31

54-62 11 42

63-71 6 48

72-80 2 50
Step 3: Identify the median class by locating the nth rank in the
table.

Class Limits f cf

18-26 3 3
THIS CLASS COVERS
27-35 5 8
18TH TO 31ST RANK IN
36-44 9 17 THE FREQUENCY
45-53 14 31 DISTRIBUTION. THE 25TH
RANK BELONGS IN THIS
54-62 11 42
CLASS.
63-71 6 48

72-80 2 50
Step 4: Determine the values of LB, cf, f, i, and N.

Class Limits f cf
CF
18-26 3 3

27-35 5 8

LB = 45-0.5 = 36-44 9 17
44.5
45-53 14 31 MEDIAN CLASS

54-62 11 42
I = 27 - 18
63-71 6 48
=9
OR FREQUENCY
72-80 2 50
I = 35 - 26
=9
Total 50
Step 5: Apply the formula to compute the value of the median.

Thus, the median is 49.64, observed that the median will fall
within the class boundary of the median class.
 MODE
• The mode is the value in the data set that appears most
frequently. Like the median and unlike the mean, extreme values in
the data set do not affect the mode. A data may not contain any
mode if none of the values is "most typical".

Unimodal- there is one value that occurs most frequently.

Bimodal- if the data has two values with the greatest frequency.

Multimodal- if the data has more than two values with the greatest
frequency.

No Mode - if all values in the data set have the same frequencies.
 Using the example on SJS Travel Agency, determine the
estimated mode of the frequency distribution on the ages of 50
people taking travel tours. Given the table

Class Limits f

18-26 3

27-35 5

36-44 9

45-53 14

54-62 11

63-71 6

72-80 2
Solving for the estimated Mode

Given: LB = 44.5
Fm = 14
F m-1 = 9
F m+1 =11
i=9

Mode = 44. 5 ((14-9)/(8))x9

= 50.13