MT.
PLEASANT HIGH SCHOOL
A Level Geography - Geostatistics Seminar
Enhancing student performance in A Level Geography
(6037/3).
Assessment Specialist: Mr. N Karimazondo -0774114549
Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of central tendency are also called measures of centrality
or measures of location.
They describe the typical score around which the majority of the
scores of the data set are located.
Measures of central tendency constitute the mean, the mode and the
median.
The mean
The arithmetic mean is the general average of the scores.
It is obtained by adding all the scores together and dividing the total
by the number of scores.
Advantages of the mean
Its computation takes into account all the scores in a data set.
It is the most representative and quantitative measure among all the
averages.
It can be calculated exactly.
It is used in further statistical calculations
Disadvantages of the mean
It is sensitive to outliers (extreme values). That is, it is affected by unusually
high or low scores.
Because of its sensitivity to outliers, it is likely to give a misleading picture of
the average.
It cannot be computed if there are missing values (averaging not possible)
It cannot be calculated for categorical or ordinal data as the categories cannot
be added
Mean from Ungrouped Data
Let a random variable X be x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, …, xn , then the mean denoted by x is obtained
or
calculated by using the formulae
x = Σxi
n
The symbol Σ is called sigma, which is used in mathematics to denote Summation
Example
Find the mean of the following set of numbers: 10, 9, 11, 13, 12, 12, 11, 13, 10 and 16
x = 10 + 9 + 11 + 13 + 12 + 12 + 11 + 13 + 10 + 16
10
= 11.7
3.1.2 Mean from Grouped Data
If the distributions: x1, x2, x3... xn have frequencies f1, f2, f3, .....,fn respectively then the mean
is given by
x = Σfixi
Σfi
Example
Find the mean of the set of data in the table below:
Mark xi 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Frequency 2 3 4 6 1 4 2 2 1 3
fi
x = (0×2) + (1× 3) + (2× 4) + (3× 6) + (4× 1) + (5× 4) + (6× 2)+ (7× 3) + (8× 1) + (9×
3)
2+3+4+6+1+4+2+2+1+3
= 4.07
The mode
The mode is the most frequent score. It represents the score that
appears more than any other score.
A distribution with a single mode is called a uni-modal distribution.
A distribution which has two modes is called a bi-modal distribution
and the one with three modes is a tri-modal distribution.
A distribution becomes multi-modal when it has several modes.
Advantages of the mode
It is easy to obtain (At least for ungrouped data), as it involves no calculation
other than basic counting. -
It is not sensitive to extreme scores.
When it exists, it becomes one of the scores in the data set.
Disadvantages of the mode
Sometimes it does not exist.
It cannot be used in further statistical analysis.
Some sets of data have no mode, while other sets may have more than one
mode
The mode is of little value as it does not include all other values in the data
set.
Mode of an Ungrouped Distribution
Example
The marks of 40 students out of 10 marks in Mathematics test are as follows:
6 3 5 4 1 2 4 1 6 9 10 1 2 4 6 8 2 7 3 7 2 1 1 4 5 3 2 1 9 8 10 6 5 2 2 1 1 7 9 10
(a) Draw a frequency table for the distribution
(b) State the mode and median of the distribution
(c) Calculate the mean of the distribution
Solution
Marks Tally Frequency
1 IIII III 8
2 IIII II 7
3 III 3
4 IIII 4
5 III 3
6 III 4
7 IIII 3
8 II 2
9 III 3
10 III 3
Total 40
(a) Mode = 1 mark
(b) Median = 1/2 (n+1)th value
The Median in the above data is the 1/2 (40+1)th value which is the 20.5th value i.e.
between the 20th and 21st value.
Therefore median = 4 marks
(c)
x = (8×1)+(7×2)+(3×3)+(4×4)+(3×5)+(4×6)+(3×7)+(2 ×8) )+(3×9) )+(3×10)
8+7+3+4+3+4+3+2
= 4.5
Mean from Grouped Data
If the distributions: x1, x2, x3... xn have frequencies f1, f2, f3, .....,fn respectively then the mean
is given by
x = Σfixi
Σfi
Example
Find the mean of the set of data in the table below:
Mark xi 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Frequency fi 2 3 4 6 1 4 2 2 1 3
x = (0×2) + (1× 3) + (2× 4) + (3× 6) + (4× 1) + (5× 4) + (6× 2)+ (7× 3) + (8× 1) + (9×
3)
2+3+4+6+1+4+2+2+1+3
= 4.07
If the data is grouped in classes, the class mark or centre is used as the variable for xi
Example
The following table shows the distribution of weekly wages earned by 60 casual employees
of CARE International in Masvingo, calculate the mean of the distribution.
Wages No. of
Employees
40 – 49 4
50 – 59 12
60 – 69 18
70 – 79 11
80 – 89 7
90 – 99 5
100 – 109 2
110 – 119 1
Solution
Wages Class Centre No. of fixi
xi Employees fi
40 – 49 44.5 4 178
50 – 59 54.5 12 654
60 – 69 64.5 18 1161
70 – 79 74.5 11 819.5
80 – 89 84.5 7 591.5
90 – 99 94.5 5 472.5
100 – 109 104.5 2 209
110 – 119 114.5 1 114.5
Σ f =60 Σ f i x i = 4200
x = (44.5×4)+(54.5×12)+(64.5×18)+(74.5×11)+(84.5×7)+(94.5×5)+(104.5×2)+(114.5
×1)
4 + 12 + 18 + 11 + 7 + 5 + 2 + 1
= 70
3.3.2 Mode from Grouped data
Mode = Lm + Cm ( fm ̶ fm ̶ 1) .
2fm ̶ (fm ̶ 1 + fm + 1)
Lm is the lower limit of the modal class
Cm is class width of the modal class
fm is the frequency of the modal class
fm+1 is the frequency just after the modal class
fm̶1 is the frequency just before the modal class
Example
The table below gives the distribution of marks of 50 students in an examination.
Marks 20 – 29 30 – 39 40 – 49 50 – 59 60 – 69 70 - 79 Total
(%)
No. of 4 7 20 9 6 4 50
students
cf 4 11 31 40 46 50
Mode = Lm + Cm ( fm ̶ fm ̶ 1) .
2fm ̶ (fm ̶ 1 + fm + 1)
= 40 + 10( 20 ̶ 7) .
2(20) ̶ (7 + 9)
= 45.42
The median
The median is represented by the score which lies in the middle of the data
set.
Put in another way, the median is the score that divides the data set into
two equal halves after re-arranging the scores in order of size.
Advantages of the median
• It is not sensitive to outliers.
• It can be one of the scores in the data set.
Disadvantages of the median
• It does not take into account all the scores of a data set.
• It cannot be used in further statistical analysis.
• Calculation can be complex with a large volume of data.
Median from Ungrouped Data
When dealing with ungrouped data, to calculate the median is very simple. All we need to
do is to rearrange the data in the order of magnitude and simply bring out the median. If
the data is an even number, then we find the mean of the two middle values.
Example
Find the Median of: 3, 2, 2, 5, 1, 4, 3, 2, 1, 5 and 2
Solution
By arranging in ascending order: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5
Median = 1/2 (n+1)th value
The Median in the above data is the 1/2 (11+1)th value which is the 6th value
Therefore median = 2
Example
Find the Median of: 104, 107, 110, 103, 118, 100
Solution
By re-arranging: 100, 103, 104, 107, 110, 118
Median = 1/2 (n+1)th value
The Median in the above data is the 1/2 (6+1)th value which is the 3.5 th value i.e. between
the 3rd and the 4th value.
‘
Median = 104 + 107
2
= 105.5
3.2.2 Median from Grouped Data
For a grouped frequency distribution, the class interval which contains the median value is
called the median class. The value of the median is then calculated using the formulae
Median = Lm + Cm (n/2 ̶ Fm ̶ 1) ,
fm
Lm is the lower limit of the median class
Cm is class width of the median class
n is the total frequency
Fm ̶ 1 is the cumulative frequency just before the median class
fm is the frequency of the median class
Example
The following table shows the distribution of the masses of 120 logs of wood, correct to
the nearest kg
Mass (kg) Frequency (f) Cumulative Frequency (cf)
15 – 24 4 4
25 – 29 35 39
30 – 34 49 88
35 – 39 24 112
40 – 49 6 118
50 – 60 2 120
Total 120
Solution
Since the total frequency is 120 Median = 1/2 (n+1)th value
The Median in the above data is the 1/2 (120 +1)th value which is the 60.5 th
value i.e.
between the 60th and the 61st value.
Hence median class (= (30 – 34)
Median = Lm + Cm (n/2 ̶ Fm ̶ 1)
fm
= 30 + 5 ( 120/2 ̶ 39)
49
= 32.14
Activity
1. Define the
(i) Mean
(ii) Mode
(iii) Median
2. Outline and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each of the
measures of central tendency.
