Describing Data:

Numerical Measures

Chapter 3

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning Objectives
LO1 Explain the concept of central tendency.
LO2 Identify and compute the arithmetic mean.
LO3 Compute and interpret the weighted mean.
LO4 Determine the median.
LO5 Identify the mode.
LO6 Calculate the geometric mean.
LO7 Explain and apply measures of dispersion.
LO8 Compute and interpret the standard deviation.
LO9 Explain Chebyshevs Theorem and the Empirical
Rule.
L10 Compute the mean and standard deviation of
grouped data.
3-2

Central Tendency Measures of Location

LO1 Explain the concept

of central tendency

The purpose of a measure of location is to pinpoint the

center of a distribution of data.
There are many measures of location. We will consider
five:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The arithmetic mean,

The weighted mean,
The median,
The mode, and
The geometric mean

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LO2 Identify and compute

the arithmetic mean.

Characteristics of the Mean

The arithmetic mean is the most widely used measure of

location.
Requires the interval scale.
Major characteristics:
All values are used.
It is unique.
The sum of the deviations from the mean is 0.
It is calculated by summing the values and dividing by the
number of values.

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LO2

Population Mean
For ungrouped data, the population mean is the
sum of all the population values divided by the
total number of population values:

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LO2

EXAMPLE Population Mean

There are 42 exits on I-75 through the state of Kentucky.
Listed below are the distances between exits (in miles).

Why is this information a population?

What is the mean number of miles between exits?

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LO2

EXAMPLE Population Mean

There are 42 exits on I-75 through the state of Kentucky. Listed below are the
distances between exits (in miles).

Why is this information a population?

This is a population because we are considering all the exits in Kentucky.
What is the mean number of miles between exits?

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LO2

Parameter Versus Statistics

PARAMETER A measurable characteristic of
a population.
STATISTIC A measurable characteristic of a
sample.

3-8

LO2

Properties of the Arithmetic Mean

1.
2.
3.
4.

Every set of interval-level and ratio-level data has a

mean.
All the values are included in computing the mean.
The mean is unique.
The sum of the deviations of each value from the mean is
zero.

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LO2

Sample Mean

For ungrouped data, the sample mean is the sum of all the
sample values divided by the number of sample values:

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LO2

EXAMPLE Sample Mean

3-11

Weighted Mean

LO3 Compute and interpret

the weighted mean

The weighted mean of a set of numbers X1,

X2, ..., Xn, with corresponding weights w1, w2,
...,wn, is computed from the following
formula:

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LO3

EXAMPLE Weighted Mean

The Carter Construction Company pays its hourly
employees $16.50, $19.00, or $25.00 per hour.
There are 26 hourly employees, 14 of which are paid
at the $16.50 rate, 10 at the $19.00 rate, and 2 at the
$25.00 rate.
What is the mean hourly rate paid the 26
employees?

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LO4 Determine the median.

The Median
MEDIAN The midpoint of the values after they have been
ordered from the smallest to the largest, or the largest to
the smallest.

PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIAN

1.
2.
3.
4.

There is a unique median for each data set.

It is not affected by extremely large or small values and is therefore
a valuable measure of central tendency when such values occur.
It can be computed for ratio-level, interval-level, and ordinal-level
data.
It can be computed for an open-ended frequency distribution if the
median does not lie in an open-ended class.

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LO4

EXAMPLES - Median
The ages for a sample
of five college students
are:
21, 25, 19, 20, 22

The heights of four

basketball players, in
inches, are:

Arranging the data in

ascending order gives:

Arranging the data in

ascending order gives:

19, 20, 21, 22, 25.

Thus the median is 21.

76, 73, 80, 75

73, 75, 76, 80.

Thus the median is 75.5
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LO5 Identify the mode.

The Mode
MODE The value of the observation that appears
most frequently.

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LO5

Example - Mode
Using the data regarding the
distance in miles between exits
on I-75 through Kentucky. The
information is repeated below.
What is the modal distance?
Organize the distances into a
frequency table.

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LO2,4,5

The Relative Positions of the Mean,

Median and the Mode

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LO6 Calculate the geometric mean.

The Geometric Mean

Useful in finding the average change of percentages, ratios, indexes, or growth rates over time.
It has a wide application in business and economics because we are often interested in finding the
percentage changes in sales, salaries, or economic figures, such as the GDP, which compound or build
on each other.
The geometric mean will always be less than or equal to the arithmetic mean.
The formula for the geometric mean is written:

EXAMPLE:
The return on investment earned by Atkins Construction Company for four successive years was: 30
percent, 20 percent, -40 percent, and 200 percent. What is the geometric mean rate of return on
investment?

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The Geometric Mean Finding an Average

Percent Change Over Time

LO6

EXAMPLE
During the decade of the 1990s, and into the 2000s, Las Vegas, Nevada, was the fastest-growing city in the United States. The population increased from 258,295 in
1990 to 607,876 in 2009. This is an increase of 349,581 people, or a 135.3 percent increase over the period. The population has more than doubled.
What is the average annual increase?

3-20

Dispersion

LO7 Explain and apply

measures of dispersion.

A measure of location, such as the mean or the median, only describes the center
of the data. It is valuable from that standpoint, but it does not tell us anything about
the spread of the data.
For example, if your nature guide told you that the river ahead averaged 3 feet in
depth, would you want to wade across on foot without additional information?
Probably not. You would want to know something about the variation in the depth.
A second reason for studying the dispersion in a set of data is to compare the
spread in two or more distributions.

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LO7

Measures of Dispersion

Range

Mean Deviation

Variance and Standard

Deviation

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LO7

EXAMPLE Range
The number of cappuccinos sold at the Starbucks location in the
Orange Country Airport between 4 and 7 p.m. for a sample of 5
days last year were 20, 40, 50, 60, and 80. Determine the range
for the number of cappuccinos sold.

Range = Largest Smallest value

= 80 20 = 60

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LO7

Mean Deviation
MEAN DEVIATION The arithmetic mean of the absolute values
of the deviations from the arithmetic mean.

A shortcoming of the range is that it is based on only two values,

the highest and the lowest; it does not take into consideration all
of the values.
The mean deviation does. It measures the mean amount by
which the values in a population, or sample, vary from their mean

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LO7

EXAMPLE Mean Deviation

The number of cappuccinos sold at the Starbucks location in the
Orange Country Airport between 4 and 7 p.m. for a sample of 5
days last year were 20, 40, 50, 60, and 80.
Determine the mean deviation for the number of cappuccinos sold.
Step 1: Compute the mean

x 20 40 50 60 80 50
n

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LO7

EXAMPLE Mean Deviation

Step 2: Subtract the mean (50) from each of the observations,
convert to positive if difference is negative
Step 3: Sum the absolute differences found in step 2 then divide
by the number of observations

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LO8 Compute and interpret

the standard deviation.

Variance and Standard Deviation

VARIANCE The arithmetic mean of the squared deviations
from the mean.

STANDARD DEVIATION The square root of the variance.

The variance and standard deviations are nonnegative and are zero only if all observations are the same.
For populations whose values are near the mean, the variance and standard deviation will be small.
For populations whose values are dispersed from the mean, the population variance and standard deviation will be large.
The variance overcomes the weakness of the range by using all the values in the population

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LO8

Variance Formula and Computation

Steps in Computing the Variance.

Step 1: Find the mean.
Step 2: Find the difference between each observation and the mean, and
square that difference.
Step 3: Sum all the squared differences found in step 2
Step 4: Divide the sum of the squared differences by the number of items in
the population.

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LO8

EXAMPLE Variance and Standard Deviation

The number of traffic citations issued during the last five months in Beaufort County, South Carolina, is reported below:

What is the population variance?

Step 1: Find the mean.
Step 2: Find the difference between each observation and the
mean, and square that difference.
Step 3: Sum all the squared differences found in step 3
Step 4: Divide the sum of the squared differences by the number
of items in the population.

x 19 17 ... 34 10 348

29
N
12
12

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LO8

EXAMPLE Variance and Standard Deviation

The number of traffic citations issued during the last twelve months in Beaufort County, South Carolina, is reported below:

What is the population variance?

Step 2: Find the difference between each
observation and the mean,
and square that difference.
Step 3: Sum all the squared differences found in step 3
Step 4: Divide the sum of the squared differences
by the number of items in the population.

(X )

1,488
124
12
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LO8

Sample Variance

Where :
s 2 is the sample variance
X is the value of each observatio n in the sample
X is the mean of the sample
n is the number of observatio ns in the sample

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LO8

EXAMPLE Sample Variance

The hourly wages
for a sample of
part-time
employees at
Home Depot are:
$12, $20, $16, $18,
and $19.
What is the sample
variance?

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LO8

Sample Standard Deviation

Where :
s 2 is the sample variance
X is the value of each observatio n in the sample
X is the mean of the sample
n is the number of observatio ns in the sample

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LO9 Explain Chebyshevs

Theorem and the Empirical Rule.

Chebyshevs Theorem
The arithmetic mean biweekly amount contributed by the
Dupree Paint employees to the companys profit-sharing plan is
$51.54, and the standard deviation is $7.51. At least what
percent of the contributions lie within plus 3.5 standard
deviations and minus 3.5 standard deviations of the mean?

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LO9

The Empirical Rule

3-35

LO10 Compute the mean and

standard deviation of grouped data.

The Arithmetic Mean of Grouped Data

3-36

LO10

The Arithmetic Mean of Grouped Data Example

Recall in Chapter 2, we
constructed a frequency
distribution for Applewood
Auto Group profit data for
180 vehicles sold. The
information is repeated on
the table. Determine the
arithmetic mean profit per
vehicle.

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LO10

The Arithmetic Mean of Grouped Data Example

3-38

LO10

Standard Deviation of Grouped Data Example

Refer to the frequency distribution for the Applewood Auto
Group data used earlier. Compute the standard deviation of the
vehicle profits.

3-39