MEASURES OF

CENTRAL
TENDENCY
Important Measures
Arithmetic Mean
Median
Mode
Weighted Mean
Geometric Mean
 Arithmetic Mean

The Arithmetic Mean is the most

widely used measure of location and
shows the central value of the data.
It is calculated by summing the
values and dividing by the number of
values
Example # 1

The monthly income of 10 employees working in a

firm is a follows. Find the average monthly income.

448 449 450 444 447 449 457 451 446 448
7 3 2 6 5 2 2 6 8 9
Example # 2: The following are the figures of profit earned
by 1400 companies during 2009-2010. Calculate the average
profits of all the companies .

Profits No of
Companies
200 up to 400 500

400 up to 600 300

600 up to 800 280

800 up to 1000 120

1000 up to 1200 100

1200 up to 1400 80

1400 up to 1600 20
Example # 3

Weights Kg Frequency

30 up to 40 18

40 up to 50 37

50 up to 60 45

60 up to 70 27

70 up to 80 15

80 up to 90 8
 Median

The Median is the midpoint of the values

after they have been ordered from the
smallest to the largest.
There are as many values above the

median as below it in the data array

For an even set of values, the median will

be the arithmetic average of the two middle

numbers and is found at the (n+1)/2 ranked
observation
Example # 4

The ages for a sample of five college students

are: 21, 25, 19, 20, 22.

The ages for a sample of five college students

are:
21, 25, 19, 20, 22.
Example # 5
The heights of four basketball players, in
inches, are: 76, 73, 80, 75.
Arranging the data in ascending order gives:
Thus the median is 75.5.
Example # 6: Calculate median age from
the following

Age Group No of Workers

18 up to 22 120
22 up to 26 125
26 up to 30 280
30 up to 34 260
34 up to 38 155
38 up to42 184
42 up to 46 162
46 up to 50 86
50 up to 54 75
54 up to 58 53
Example# 7

Weights Kg Frequency

30 up to 40 18

40 up to 50 37

50 up to 60 45

60 up to 70 27

70 up to 80 15

80 up to 90 8
Mode

The Mode is another measure of location and

represents the value of the observation that
appears most frequently.
The exam scores for ten students are: 81, 93,

84, 75, 68, 87, 81, 75, 81, 87. Because the
score of 81 occurs the most often, it is the
mode.
Example # 8: Calculate Mode from
the following

Age Group No of Workers

58 up to 60 12
60 up to 62 18
62 up to 64 25
64 up to 66 30
66 up to 68 10
68 up to 70 3
70 up to 72 2
Example#9

Weights Kg Frequency

30 40 18

40 50 37

50 60 45

60 70 27

70 80 15

80- 90 8
 3- 15

Symmetric distribution: A distribution having the

same shape on either side of the center

Skewed distribution: One whose shapes on either

side of the center differ; a nonsymmetrical distribution.

Can be positively or negatively skewed, or bimodal

The Relative Positions of the Mean, Median, and Mode
 3- 16
Zero skewness Mean
=Median
=Mode

M ean
M e d ia n
M ode

The Relative Positions of the Mean, Median, and Mode:

Symmetric Distribution
 3- 17
Positively skewed: Mean and median are to the right of the
mode.

Mean>Median>Mode

M ode M ean
M e d ia n
The Relative Positions of the Mean, Median, and Mode:
Right Skewed Distribution
 3- 18

Negatively Skewed: Mean and Median are to the left of the Mode.

Mean<Median<Mode

M ean M ode
M e d ia n
The Relative Positions of the Mean, Median, and
Mode: Left Skewed Distribution
 Weighted Mean

The weighted mean is a special case of

the arithmetic mean. It occurs when there
are several observations of the same
value.
The Weighted Mean of a set of numbers
X1, X2, ..., Xn, with corresponding weights
w1, w2, ...,wn, is computed from the
following formula.
Formula

( w1 X 1 w2 X 2 ... wn X n )
Xw
( w1 w2 ...wn )
Example # 10

The Carter Construction Company pays

its hourly employees Tk. 16.50 , Tk.
17.50, or Tk. 18.50 per hour. There are
26 hourly employees, 14 are paid at the
Tk. 16.50 rate, 10 at the Tk. 17.50, and 2
at the Tk. 18.50 rate. What is the mean
hourly rate paid the 26 employees ?
Example # 11

Springers sold 95 Antoneli mens suits for the

regular price of Tk. 400. For the spring sale the
suits were reduced to Tk. 200 and 126 were sold.
At the final clearance, the price was reduced to
Tk. 100 and the remaining 79 suits were sold.
What was the weighted mean price of an
Antoneli suit.
Springers paid Tk. 200 for the 300 suits.
Comment on the stores profit per suit if a
salesperson receives a Tk. 25 commission for
each one sold.
Geometric Mean

The geometric mean is useful in finding

the average of percentages, ratios,
indexes, or growth rate.
It is applied to find out percentage
change in sales, salaries, or economic
figures, such as GDP.
Geometric mean is never greater than
the Arithmetic Mean.
Geometric Mean

The geometric mean (GM) of a set of n

numbers is defined as the nth root of the
product of the n numbers.
The GM gives a more conservative figure
Formula

GM ( X 1)( X 2)( X 3)...( Xn)

n
Example # 12

The return on investment by Atkins

Construction Company for four
successive years was: 30 percent, 20
percent, -40 percent. What is the
geometric mean rate of return on
investment.
Quartile, Deciles and
Percentiles
 Quartiles
D iv id e a s e t o f
o b s e r v a tio n s
in to fo u r
e q u a l p a r ts.

4- Quartiles
28
 Quartiles
L o c a te th e m e d ia n ,
(5 0 th p e r c e n tile )

4-
29
Quartiles (continued)
 Quartiles
L o c a te th e m e d ia n ,
(5 0 th p e r c e n tile )
th e fir s t q u a r tile
(2 5 th p e r c e n tile )

4-
30 Quartiles (continued)
 Quartiles
L o c a te th e m e d ia n ,
(5 0 th p e r c e n tile )
fir s t q u a r tile (2 5 th p e r c e n tile )

a n d th e 3 r d q u a r tile
(7 5 th p e r c e n tile )

4-
31 Quartiles (continued)
 Quartiles

4-
32 Quartiles (continued)
Example # 13 :The profit earned by 100 companies
during 2009-2010. Calculate First Quartile, Fourth
Deciles, and Eighty Percentiles

Profit ( Tk. No of
Lakhs) Companies
20 up to 30 4
30 up to 40 8
40 up to 50 18
50 up to 60 30
60 up to 70 15
70 up to 80 10
80 up to 90 8
90 up to 100 7