Mean, Median, and Mode

In everyday life it is often important to collect data. Perhaps from a survey or a questionnaire. Once we have collected the data, it is then important to arrange it in a way which allows someone to analyze the information, so that a conclusion or decision can be made.

Statistics
3 of the most important statistics we use when we analyze data are called:
The mean The median The mode

The Mean
The mean of a set of data is the average. To find the mean, add all the data values together and divide by the number of values.

Lets start with an easy example!

In her last 5 games, Sara has scored the following number of points: 12, 16, 11, 17, and 18 What is the mean of these scoring totals?

To determine the mean, all we have to do is add up all of her points and then divide by the number of games she played 12+16+11+17+18=74 74/5=14.8 Saras scoring mean was 14.8 points per game

The Median
The median is the middle value after the data has been arranged in order. If the set of data contains an even number of values, then the median is the average (the mean) of the two middle values.

Lets try a couple of these!

Jake received the following test grades on his last 7 quizzes: 79, 88, 75, 71, 89, 80, 92 What was his median grade?

 First, we must arrange the scores in order. 71, 75, 79, 80, 88, 89, 92 In this case, we have 7 values and because 7 is an odd number, we have a middle number. The middle value will be the 4th number from either end of the set. In this case the median would be 80. 71, 75, 79, 80, 88, 89, 92 The median of this set is 80

Lets do one with an even number of data values

Over an 8 day period, Bessie, the cow, produced the following total gallons of milk per day: 16, 18, 19, 15, 14, 20, 17, 22 What was the median number of gallons over this period of time?

 Again, the first step is to arrange the values in order

This time we have an even number of values, that means there is no value exactly in the middle. So, we have to find the average of the two middle numbers. 14, 15,16,17,18,19,20,22 I have underlined the two middle numbers To average, we simply add them together and then divide by 2 17+18=35 35/2=17.5 The median of this set is 17.5 gallons.
14, 15,16,17,18,19,20,22

The Mode
The mode is the data value that appears the most in the set. Because no value may appear more often than any other, it is possible for a set to have no mode. And because it is possible for a set to contain more than one element which appears the same number of times as another, it is possible for a set to have more than one mode.

Lets look at a couple of examples

The following is a list of heights (in inches) of a high school basketball team:
68,67,66,70,74,72,68,71,75,68,72,71

What is the mode?

To determine the mode, all we have to do is find which data values appear the most
68, 67, 66, 70, 74, 72, 68, 71, 75, 68, 72, 71 There are 2-71s and 2-72s BUT, there are 3-68s So, the mode is 68!

Lets look at one more

This is a list of the grades of a class on a recent math test: 85, 78, 90, 91, 88, 85, 73, 84, 90, 95, 67, 70 Find the mode for this set of data.

If you write the numbers in order, you will clearly see any multiple entries.

67, 70, 73, 78, 84, 85, 85, 88, 90, 90, 91, 95 This set has 2 modes: 85 and 90