Measures of Central Tendency Mean Median Mode and

Measures of Central Tendency Mean, Median, Mode, and Range

Mean • The mean is the average number in a set of data. You will add up all the numbers and divide by the total numbers. • Example: You have homework grades as follows: 80, 100, 65, 75, 100 • The sum of those grades is 600. There were 7 homework grades, so you will do the following: 600 ÷ 7 = 85. 7 • The average homework grade is 85. 7

Median • The median is the middle number in a set of data that is ordered from least to greatest. • Example: The same 7 homework grades would need to be ordered from least to greatest first. 65, 75, 80, 100, 100 • Now, you find the middle number by counting in from the ends. • You see that 80 is in the middle. • The median of this set of data is 80. • If there an even number of data, take the average of the two numbers in the middle.

Mode • The mode is the number that occurs most often in a set of data. • There may be more than one mode. • The mode has to be a number that occurs more than one time. • Example: In the homework example, the grade of 100 occurs three times, which is more than any other homework grade. The number 100 is the mode of this set of data.

Range • The range is the difference between the largest number and smallest number in the set of data. • The larger the range, the more variation there is in the data. • The smaller the range, the less variation there is in the data. • Example: In the homework example, the highest grade was 100 and the lowest was 65. The difference is 35, so 35 is the range.