7.

1 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

7.1.1/7.1.2/7.1.3 MEAN, MODE AND MEDIAN OF UNGROUPED DATA

1. Mean, x 
x (for ungrouped data without frequency table)
n

x
 fx (for ungrouped data with frequency table)
f
2. Mode of a set of data is the value that has the highest frequency.
3. When the values in a set of data are arranged in either ascending or descending order, the value that
lies in the middle is known as the median.
In general, if a set of data has n values, then median is:
 n 1
th

The   value, when n is odd.

 2 
th th
n n 
The average of   and   1 value, when n is even.
2 2 

Examples:
1. The recorded temperatures at mid-day in Taiping for the past one week are
31, 35, 34, 33, 33, 28, 30. Find the mean, mode and median. [32,33,33]

2. Marks of 10 students for Science: 48, 67, 82, 79, 55, 67, 89, 75, 79, 32
Find the mean, mode and median. [67.3; 67,79; 71]

3. The following data shows the numbers of siblings each of the 41 students of a classroom has. Find the
mean, mode and median. [4.780; 4; 5]
Number of Number of students, (f)
siblings
1 3
2 3
3 5
4 8
5 7
6 5
7 6
8 3
9 1

4. The following table shows the distribution of the number of handphones a family has, where the data
were taken from 48 families. Determine the mode, mean and median. [3; 3.0625; 3]
Number of handphones, (x) 1 2 3 4 5

Number of families, (f) 2 13 18 10 5

5. Find the set of five integers that has a possible mode of 11, a median of 12 and a mean of 13.
[13,18 or 14,17 or 15, 16]

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Exercise : Text Book P1, P2, P3 (pg 127-129)

Answers

Answers

Answers

1
7.1.4 DETERMINING THE MODAL CLASS OF GROUPED DATA
In a grouped data with class intervals, the class that has the highest frequency is called the the modal
class.
Example:
1. The following table shows the distribution of ages of 40 workers in a factory. Find the modal class of the
ages of workers in a factory. [26-30]

Age (years) Frequency

21 – 25 7
26 – 30 10
31 – 35 9
36 – 40 6
41 – 45 8

Exercise : Text Book P4 (pg 130)

Answer

7.1.5 FINDING THE MODE FROM A HISTOGRAM

Examples:
Find the mode from the histogram. [152.5 ; 73]

Exercise : Text Book P5 (pg 131)

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 Answers

7.1.6 MEAN OF GROUPED DATA

x
 fx
f
Example:
1. Find the mean for the data in the table below. [46.55]

Marks 1 - 15 16 - 30 31 - 45 46 - 60 61 - 75 76 - 90
f 8 11 25 34 16 6

Exercise : Text Book P6 (pg 132)

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Answers

7.1.7 MEDIAN OF GROUPED DATA

L is the lower boundary of the median class
 N
F N is total frequency
Median, m  L   2 c
 f m  F is the cumulative frequency before the median class
C is the interval of the median class
fm is the frequency of the median class

Examples:
1. The following table shows the weekly allowance
of 40 students in a secondary school.
Find the median. [17.17]

Weekly Frequency Cumulative

Allowance (RM) Frequency
1–5 3
6 – 10 4
11 – 15 10
16 – 20 9
21 – 25 8
26 – 30 6

2. The time taken by 60 students to complete an

IQ test are recorded in the table below: [73.44]
Time (minutes) Frequency
1 - 20 2
21 - 40 5
41 – 60 12
61 – 80 17
81 – 100 14
101 - 120 10

Find the median of this data

Exercise : Text Book P7 (pg 134)

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7.1.8 Median From An Ogive
Example: Find the median for the ogive below. [17.6]

[Answer : 17.6]

Exercise : Text Book P8 (pg 135)

7.1.9 Effects on Mean, Mode and Median with Data Changes

Case 1 : If every value of the data is changed uniformly

If a constant k is added to or subtracted from each of the data in a set of data, then the

New mean = original mean  k

New mode = original mode  k

New median = original median  k

If each of the data in a set of data is multiplied by a constant k, then the

New mean = original mean  k

New mode = original mode  k

New median = original median  k

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 Examples:
1. Given that the mean, mode and median of a set of data are 2.5, 4 and 3 respectively. A number 5 is
added to each of the data. Find the mean, mode and median of the new data. [7.5; 9; 8]

2. Given that the mean, mode and median of a set of data are 3, 6 and 4 respectively. If each of the
data is multiplied by 5, find the mean, mode and median of the new data. [15;30;20]

3. Given that the mean, mode and median of a set of data are 7, 6 and 8 respectively. If each of the
data is multiplied by 2 and then is added by 3, find the mean, mode and median of the new data.
[17,15,19]

4. Given the following set of data:

14, 7, 16, 10, 14, 16, 8, 4, 5, 16
(a) Find its mean, mode and median. [11, 16, 12]
(b) Hence, deduce the mean, mode and median of each of the following sets of data:
(i) 19, 12, 21, 15, 19, 21, 13, 9, 10, 21 [16, 21, 17]
(ii) 70, 35, 80, 50, 70, 80, 40, 20, 25, 80 [55, 80, 60]

Exercise : Text Book P9 (pg 137)

Case 2 : If there are extreme values in the set of data

Example:

Syarikat Elektrik Bijak Sdn Bhd is a company that manufactures television and radio. The following
table shows the total number of defects found during quality control process in a week for both
television and radio.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Television 2 2 4 5 7
Radio 2 2 4 5 27

i) Find the mean, mode and median of the total number of defects for both television and radio;
[TV :4; 2; 4, Radio 8; 2; 4]]
ii) Compare the mean, mode and median of the number of defects between television and radio.
How does the existence of extreme values affect the mean, mode and median?
[affect the mean but have little or no effect on mode and median]

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Case 3 : If certain values are added or removed

Examples:
1. Given the mean of a set of data that consists of 7 positive integers is 5. When a number k is added
to the set of data, its mean becomes 6. Find the number k. [13]

2. Given the mean of a set of data that consists of 10 numbers is 6. When a number p is removed
from the set of data, its mean becomes 3. Find the number p. [33]

7.1.10 The most suitable Measure of Central Tendency

Between mean, median and mode, the most commonly used measure of central tendency is
mean. In calculating the mean, all the values in the data set are taken into account.
It is suitable for representing data which are quite evenly distributed.
When a certain value in a set of data is changed, the value of the mean will also change.
This does not necessarily happen to median and mode. If a set of data contains extreme
values, median will be a better measurement. If a set of data containing many repeated
values, mode will be a better value to represent the set of data.

Examples:

1. Find the median, mode and mean of the following data. Compare the answers and make your
inference.

(a) 28, 30, 31, 33, 33, 34, 35 (b) 5, 28, 30, 31, 33, 33, 34, 35
[33; 33; 32, mean - all the values [32; 33; 28.625, median – extreme
in the set of data taken into value of 5 in the set of data]
account]

2. Suppose 8 friends decided to collect some money to buy a present for their teacher’s birthday.
Here are the amounts of money agreed to be contributed by each of them:
RM 2, RM 15, RM 20, RM 7, RM 12, RM 2, RM 150, RM 18
Find the mean, mode and median of the set of data.
If we want to use the measure of central tendency to represent the average of this data, what do
you think is the best measure to be used? [28.25; 2; 13.50; median]

3. The following are the marks for Bahasa Melayu obtained by 15 students.

12, 15, 25, 67, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 78, 79, 82, 82, 82

Determine the values of mean, mode and median. Based on the values that you have calculated,
decide which is/are the most suitable value(s) to be used to represent the data.
[64.67; 82; 75; median]

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 4. The table below shows the distribution of a random sample of 108 students’ shoe sizes in a
school.

Shoe size No. of student

5 4
6 56
7 48
8 4

Determine the values of mean, mode and median. Based on the values, decide which is/are the most
suitable value(s) to be used to represent the data? Explain your answer.
[6.46; 6; 6, mode, due to highest demand]

Exercise : Text Book P10, P11 (pg 138-139)

7.2 MEASURES OF DISPERSION

7.2.1 RANGE OF UNGROUPED DATA

Range = largest value – smallest value

Examples:
1. The data below shows the number of medical leaves taken by 10 employees of Hotel Suria in a
year: 12, 5, 4, 8, 5, 10, 2, 8, 7, 6
Find the range of this data. [10]

2. Rahim, a class monitor of 4 science 1, has recorded the attendance of students in the class for a
week. The data is as follow: 35, 38, 36, 30, 40. [10]
Find the range of this data.

3. The above data shows the amount of time, in minutes, spent in a day by 10 students to use the
internet. 15, 29, 32, 56, 72, 34, 21, 42. Find the range of this data. [57]

Exercise : Text Book P12 (pg 142)

7.2.2 INTERQUARTILE RANGE OF UNGROUPED DATA

Interquarartile range = Q3 - Q1

Examples:
1. Find the interquartile range of the following data:

2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 12, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24, 26 [13]

2. En. Norman had collected data on the number of people who attended the Tae Kwan Do classes
from January to August last year. Below is the list of En. Norman’s data.

23, 45, 27, 18, 33, 29, 21, 16 [11.5]

Find the interquartile range of this data.

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3. Find the interquartile range of the following data:

16, 18, 21, 23, 27, 29, 33 [11]

4. A shop assistant was keying-in the data of the shoes sizes that being sold at the beginning of the
day. The data is shown below.
3, 14, 7, 8, 13, 9, 2, 6, 12, 10, 5
Find the interquartile range. [7]

5. The above data shows the amount of money spent by 10 students at the school canteen
for a week. Find the interquartile range of this data.
12, 16, 8, 24, 36, 11, 28, 30, 25, 23 [16]

6. The following table shows the number of children of 10 families.

No. of Children Frequency

1 2
2 3
3 2
4 2
5 1
Find the interquartile range of this data. [2]

7. Mr. Raven wanted to know how often his students went to the cinemas in a month. The table below
shows the data that he collected.

Number of times Frequency

0 4
1 7
2 9
3 8
4 7
5 5

Find the interquartile range of this data. [3]

Exercise : Text Book P13,P14 (pg 144-145)

7.2.3/7.2.4 RANGE AND INTERQUARTILE RANGE OF GROUPED DATA

Range = largest class mark – smallest class mark

Interquarartile range = Q3 - Q1

N   3N 
 F  F
Q1  L   4 c Q3  L   4 c
 f Q1   f Q3 
   
   

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Examples:
1. The table shows the distribution of people taking part in a jogathon to raise money for a
cancer foundation. Find the range and interquartile range of the data. [20.50]

Age Number of people (f)

10 – 19 15
20 - 29 20
30 - 39 18
40 - 49 16
50 – 59 5
60 – 69 1
70 - 79 1

2. A survey on the length of time accident victims stayed in the hospital was conducted and the table
below displays the result. Find the range and the interquartile range of the data. [10.10]

Time 1-5 6 - 10 11 - 15 16 – 20 21 - 25 26 - 30 31 - 35
(Days)
Frequency 31 17 10 5 4 3 2

Exercise : Text Book P15 (pg 146)

7.2.5 Interquartile Range From Ogive

Determine the interquartile range for the ogive below.

[Answer : 12 mm]
Exercise : Text Book P16 (pg 147)

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 7.2.6/7.27 DETERMINING THE VARIANCE AND STANDARD DEVIATION

Variance and Standard Deviation are statistical measurement which measure how much the values in a set of
data vary from the mean.
 f ( x  x) 2
Variance, ( x  x) 2 , or 2 
2  f
n
2
 x2   x 
2  fx 2   fx 
 
2
   
2
  
n  n  f f 


 x2
 x 2

 fx 2
f
 x 2

n
Standard deviation, or
( x  x) 2  f ( x  x) 2
  
n f
2
 x2   x 
2
 fx 2
  fx 
      
n  n  f f 


 x2

 x
2

 fx 2
f
 x 2

(A) UNGROUPED DATA

Examples:

1. Rina is taking part in the Science Project. She is studying the lengths of worms in a sample of soil.
She measures all the worms she has collected and records their lengths, rounded to the nearest cm
as follows.

5 cm 8 cm 10 cm 6 cm 7 cm

Determine the mean, variance and standard deviation of the length of the worms.
[7.2; 2.960;1.720]

2. The following table shows a distribution of the number of children per family for 45 families.

x 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
f 1 3 18 12 5 4 1 1
Determine the mean, variance and standard deviation of the data. [4.844;1.869;1.369]

Exercise : Text Book P17,P19 (pg 149,pg 151)

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(B) GROUPED DATA
Example:
1. The following table shows a distribution of the weights of 104 tea bags (in grams) produced by
a company.
Weight (g) Number of tea bags
3.0 – 3.2 1
3.3 – 3.5 3
3.6 – 3.8 45
3.9 – 4.1 37
4.2 – 4.4 15
4.5 – 4.7 2
4.8 – 5.0 1

Find the mean, variance and standard deviation for this distribution. [3.908;0.07620;0.2760]

Exercise : Text Book P18,P20 (pg 150,pg 153)

7.2.8 Effects on Range, Interquartile range, Variance and standard deviation with Data
Changes
Case 1 : If every value of the data is changed uniformly

If a constant k is added to or subtracted from each of the data in a set of data, then the

New range = original range

New interquartile range = original interquatile range

New variance = original variance

New standard deviation = original standard deviation

If each of the data in a set of data is multiplied by a constant k, then the

New range = original range  k

New interquartile range = original interquartile range  k

New variance = original variance  k2

New standard deviation = original standard deviation  k

Examples:

1. Given that the range, interquartile range, variance and standard deviation of a set of data are 12, 9,
20.29 and 4.50 respectively. A number 7 is added to each of the data. Find the range, interquartile
range, variance and standard deviation of the new data. [12; 9; 20.29; 4.50]

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2. Given that the range, interquartile range, variance and standard deviation of a set of data are 15, 9,
26.57 and 5.15 respectively. If each of the data is multiplied by 3, find the range, interquartile
range, variance and standard deviation of the new data. [ 45; 27; 239.13; 15.45]

3. Given that the range, interquartile range, variance and standard deviation of a set of data are 13, 7,
19.24 and 4.39 respectively. Each of the data is multiplied by 2 and then is added by 3. Find the
range, interquartile range, variance and standard deviation of the new data. [26;14;76.96;8.78]

Exercise : Text Book P21 (pg 155)

Case 2: If there are extreme values in the set of data

The following table shows the daily allowances in a certain week received by Rahim and his sister,
Rohana.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Rahim 4 5 6 8 10
Rohana 4 5 6 8 30

(i) Find the range, interquartile range, variance and standard deviation of each set of data;
[Rahim : 6; 4.5; 4.64; 2.154 Rohana : 26; 14.5; 95.84; 9.790]
(ii) Compare the range, interquartile range, variance and standard deviation of both sets of
data. How does the existence of extreme value affect the range, interquartile range,
variance and standard deviation? [Range become very big, interquartile range bigger,
variance and standard deviation are increase]

Case 3 If certain values are added or removed

Examples

1. A set of data that consists of 7 integers has a mean of 10 and a variance of 16. When a
number k is added to the set of data, its mean becomes 12.
i) Find the number k; [26]
ii) Find the standard deviation of the new data. [6.481]

7.2.9 Comparing The Measures Of Central Tendency And Dispersion

Examples:
1. In a final examination, Marlina and Jamie have scored the following marks for 7 subjects.
These are their marks.
Marlina : 70, 93, 98, 56, 97, 95, 91
Jamie : 85, 86, 83, 85, 87, 88, 80
Who do you think has got the better marks? Who has got the consistent marks? Explain your
answer. [Marlina(higher mean, 85.71) ; Jamie(lower standard deviation, 2.374)]

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 2. The following are the average monthly incomes of two groups of people working in two
different restaurants.
Restaurant A: 670, 650, 1500, 1250, 1300, 2000
Restaurant B: 350, 380, 1300, 1500, 1700, 2700
Restaurant A claims their workers have better pay compared to Restaurant B. Investigate
whether the statement is true or not. [Not true, B has higher mean,1321.67]

3. Suppose the following are data taken for 10 days on the number of hours spent daily by
student A and student B on studying.
Student A : 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 5, 3
Student B : 4, 4, 3, 4, 3, 2, 4, 5, 5, 4
Which one of them do you think is more consistent in their studies?
[A, lower standard deviation,0.6]

Exercise : Text Book P22 (pg 157)

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

1. Table 1 shows the results obtained by 100 pupils in a test.

Marks < 20 < 30 < 40 < 50 < 60 < 70 < 80 < 90
Number of pupils 3 8 20 41 65 85 96 100
Table 1
(a) Based on Table 1, complete the table below.
Marks 10 – 19
Frequency
(b) Without drawing an ogive, estimate the interquartile range.

Answer:-(b)Interquartile range = 22.62

2. The mean and standard deviation of a set of integers 2 , 4 , 8 , p and q are 5 and 2 respectively.

(a) Find the values of p and of q .

(b) State the mean and variance of the set integers 7, 11, 9 , 2p + 3 and 2q + 3

Answer:-(a) p  5,q  6 or p  6,q  5 (b) Mean =13 Variance = 16

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3. The histogram in Diagram 1 shows the marks obtained by 40 students in Mathematics test.
Number of students

10

2
Marks
0 15.5 20.5 25.2 30.5 35.5 40.5
Diagram 1

(a) Without drawing an ogive , calculate the median mark.

(b) Calculate the standard deviation of the marks.
Answer:(a) 27.17 (b) 6.595

4. Table 2 shows the frequency distribution of the Chemistry marks of a group of students.

Marks Number of
students
1 – 10 2
11 – 20 3
21 – 30 5
31 – 40 10
41 – 50 p
51 – 60 2
Table 2

(a) If the median mark is 34.5 , calculate the value of p .

(b) By using a scale of 2 cm to 10 marks on the horizontal axis and 2 cm to 2 students on
the vertical axis, draw a histogram to represent the frequency distribution of the
marks. Find the modal mark.
(c) What is the modal mark if the mark of each student is increased by 8 ?

Answer:- (a) p = 6 (b) Mode = 36.5 (c) 44.5

5. The scores, x , obtained by 32 students of Class 5 Alfa in a test are summarized as

 x  2496 and  x 2  195488. The mean and the standard deviation of the scores, y ,
obtained by 40 students and Class 5 Beta in the test are 66 and 6 respectively.

(a) Find (i) y (ii)  y2

(b) Calculate the mean and the standard deviation of the scores obtained by all the 72
students.

Answer:-(a)(i) 2640 (ii)175680 (b)Mean = 71.375 , S Deviation= 7.792

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6. A set of data consists of 10 numbers. The sum of the numbers is 120 and the sum of the
squares of the numbers is 1650.

(a) Find the mean and variance of the set of data,

(b) A number a is added to the set of data and the mean is increased by 2, find
(i) the value of a,
(ii) the standard deviation of the new set of data.

Answer:-(a) Mean = 12 , Variance = 21 (b)(i) a = 34 (ii) S Deviation = 7.687

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