STATISTICS

INFORMED DECISIONS USING DATA

Chapter 3
Numerically
Summarizing
Data

3-1 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
3.1 Measures of Central Tendency
Learning Objectives

1. Determine the arithmetic mean of a variable from

raw data
2. Determine the median of a variable from raw data
3. Determine the mode of a variable from raw data

3-2 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 A measure of central tendency numerically describes
the average or typical data value.

The three most widely-used measures of central

tendency are the mean, the median, and the mode.

In the media (newspapers, blogs, and so on), average

usually refers to the mean. But beware: some reporters
use average to refer to the median or mode. These
three measures of central tendency can give very
different results!

3-3 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Objective 1
• Determine the arithmetic mean of a variable
from raw data

3-4 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The mean (or arithmetic mean) of a set of data is the
measure of center found by adding all of the data
values and dividing the total by the number of data
values.

While other types of means exist, the arithmetic mean is

generally referred to as the mean.

3-5 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Notation

where x is the variable used to represent the

individual data values.

3-6 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Computing a Population Mean and a
(1 of 4) Sample Mean

The data in Table 1 represent the first exam score of 10 students

enrolled in Introductory Statistics. Treat the 10 students as a
population.
(a) Compute the population mean.
(b) Find a simple random sample of
size n = 4 students.
(c) Compute the sample mean of the
sample found in part (b).

3-7 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Computing a Population Mean and a
(2 of 4) Sample Mean

(a) Compute the population mean by adding the scores of all 10

students:
å xi = x1 + x2 + x3 + ! + x10
= 82 + 77 + 90 + 71 + 62 + 68 + 74 + 84 + 94 + 88
= 790
Divide this result by 10, the number of students in the class.

= µ= å
790 x
= 79 i

N 10
Although it was not necessary in this problem, we will agree to
round the mean to one more decimal place than that in the raw
data.
3-8 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Computing a Population Mean and a
(3 of 4) Sample Mean

(b) To find a simple random sample of size n = 4 from a population

of size N = 10. Suppose that the simple random selected
consists of:

Jennifer (62), Juan (88), Ryanne (77), and Dave (68).

3-9 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Computing a Population Mean and a
(4 of 4) Sample Mean

(c) Compute the sample mean by adding the scores of the four
students:
åx i = x1 + x2 + x3 + x4
= 62 + 88 + 77 + 68
= 295

Divide this result by 4, the number of individuals in the sample.

x=
å x i
=
295
= 73.8 Round to the nearest tenth.
n 4

3-10 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Objective 2
• Determine the Median of a Variable from Raw
Data

3-11 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 The median of a variable is the value that lies
in the middle of the data when arranged in
ascending order. We use M to represent the
median.

3-12 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Steps in Finding the Median of a Data Set
Step 1 Arrange the data in ascending order.
Step 2 Determine the number of observations, n.
Step 3 Determine the observation in the middle of the data set.

3-13 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Steps in Finding the Median of a Data Set
Step 1 Arrange the data in ascending order.
Step 2 Determine the number of observations, n.
Step 3 Determine the observation in the middle of the data set.
• If the number of observations is odd, then, the median is the
n +1
observation that lies in the position.
2
• If the number of observations is even, then the median is the
mean of the two middle observations in the data set. That is, the
n
median is the mean of the observations that lie in the
2
n
position and the + 1 position.
2

3-14 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Determining the Median of a Data Set with an
(1 of 2) Odd Number of Observations
The data in Table 2 represent the length
(in seconds) of a random sample of songs
released in the 1970s. Find the median
length of the songs.

Step 1: Arrange the data in ascending order:

179, 201, 206, 208, 217, 222, 240, 257, 284

Step 2: There are n = 9 observations.

3-15 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Determining the Median of a Data Set with an
(2 of 2) Odd Number of Observations

Step 3: Since n is odd, the median, M, is the observation exactly

n +1 9 +1
in the middle of the data set, 217 seconds (the = = 5th
2 2
data value). We list the data in ascending order and show the
median in blue.

179, 201, 206, 208, 217, 222, 240, 257, 284

Notice there are four observations on each side of the median.

3-16 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Determining the Median of a Data Set with an
(1 of 2) Even Number of Observations
Find the median score of the data in Table 1.

Step 1: Arrange the data in ascending order:

62, 68, 71, 74, 77, 82, 84, 88, 90, 94

Step 2: There are n = 10 observations.

3-17 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Determining the Median of a Data Set with an
(2 of 2) Even Number of Observations
Step 3: Because n is even, the median is the mean of the two
æ n 10 ö
middle observations, the fifth ç = = 5 ÷ and sixth
è 2 2 ø
æn 10 ö
ç + 1 = + 1 = 6 ÷ observations with the data written in
è2 2 ø
ascending order. So the median is the mean of 77 and 82:
77 + 82
M= = 79.5
2
Notice there are five observations on each side of the median.
62, 68, 71, 74, 77, 82, 84, 88, 90, 94
M = 79.5
Notice that 50% (or half) of the students scored less than 79.5
and 50% (or half) of the students scored above 79.5.
3-18 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Finding the Mean and Median of a Data Set
Using Technology
Use statistical software or a calculator to
determine the population mean and
median of the student test score data in
Table 1.

The figure shows the output obtained

from StatCrunch.
In StatCrunch (copy all scores
into the same column):
stats -> summary stats ->
columns

3-19 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Objective 3
• Determine the Mode of a Variable from Raw
Data

3-20 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 The mode of a variable is the most frequent
observation of the variable that occurs in the
data set.

A set of data can have no mode, one mode, or

more than one mode.
If no observation occurs more than once, we
say the data have no mode.

3-21 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Finding the Mode of Quantitative Data

The following data represent the number of O-ring

failures on all space shuttle flights prior to the fatal flight
of the space shuttle Columbia that occurred on January
28, 1986. Source: Report of the Presidential Commission on the
Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, 6 June 1986, Volume 1, Page 145.

0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3

Find the mode number of O-ring failures.

The mode is 0 because it occurs most frequently

(17 times).

3-22 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Finding the Mode of Quantitative Data

Find the mode of the exam score data listed in Table 1,

which is repeated here:

82, 77, 90, 71, 62, 68, 74, 84, 94, 88

Since each data value occurs only once, there is no

mode.

3-23 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 A data set can have two modes. In this case, we say
the data are bimodal.
If a data set has three or more data values that occur
with the highest frequency, the data set is
multimodal.

Figure (a) shows a distribution with one mode.

Figure (b) shows a distribution that is bimodal.

3-24 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Determining the Mode of Qualitative Data

The data in Table 6 represent the location of injuries that

required rehabilitation by a physical therapist. Determine
the mode location of injury.

3-25 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Determining the Mode of Qualitative Data

The data in Table 6 represent the location of injuries that

required rehabilitation by a physical therapist. Determine
the mode location of injury.

The mode location of injury is the back, with 12

instances.

3-26 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 3.2 Measures of Dispersion
Learning Objectives
1. Determine the range of a variable from raw data
2. Determine the standard deviation of a variable from
raw data
3. Determine the variance of a variable from raw data
4. Use the Empirical Rule to describe data that are bell
shaped

3-28 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Measures of central tendency describe the typical
value of a variable. Dispersion (or variation) is the
degree to which the data are spread out.

3-29 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Comparing Two Sets of Data
(1 of 3)
The data in Table 7 represent the IQ scores of a random sample of
100 students from two different universities. For each university,
compute the mean IQ score and draw a histogram using a lower
class limit of 55 for the first class and a class width of 15.
Comment on the results.

3-30 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Comparing Two Sets of Data
(2 of 3)
Enter the data into StatCrunch and determine that the mean IQ
score of both universities is 100.0. The figure shows the
histograms.

3-31 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Comparing Two Sets of Data
(3 of 3)
Notice, both universities have a mean IQ of 100.

However, University A has higher dispersion since the data spans

a greater range of values.

3-32 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Objective 1
• Determine the range of a variable from raw
data

3-33 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The range, R, of a variable is the difference
between the largest data value and the smallest
data values. That is,

Range = R = largest data value – smallest data value

3-34 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Computing the Range of a Set of Data
The data in Table 8 represent the scores on the first
exam of 10 students enrolled in Introductory Statistics.
Compute the range.

The highest test score is 94 and the

lowest test score is 62. The range is

R = 94 – 62 = 32

All the students in the class scored

between 62 and 94 on the exam. The
difference between the best score and
the worst score is 32 points.

3-35 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Objective 2
• Determine the Standard Deviation of a
Variable from Raw Data

3-36 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Standard deviation is a measure that tells us how
far from the mean most of the data tends to fall.

The standard deviation of a set of sample

values, is a measure of how much data values
deviate away from the mean.

Notation
s = sample standard deviation
σ = population standard deviation

3-37 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Standard deviation formulas

Population
standard
Σ(𝑥 − 𝜇)!
𝜎= (1)
deviation 𝑁

Sample
standard (2)
deviation

where x represents the observations in the

population or sample.

3-38 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Caution!
When using Formula (2), be sure to use x with as
many decimal places as possible to avoid round-off
error.

3-39 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Computing a Population Standard
(1 of 5) Deviation
Compute the population standard deviation of the test scores in
Table 8, used previously.

Solution Using Formula (1)

Step 1 See Table 9.
Column 1 lists the
observations in the data
set, and Column 2 contains
the population mean.

3-40 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Computing a Population Standard
(2 of 5) Deviation

Step 2 Column 3 contains

the deviations about the
mean for each observation.
For example, the deviation
about the mean for
Michelle is 82 – 79 = 3. It
is a good idea to add the
entries in this column to
make sure they sum to 0.

3-41 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Computing a Population Standard
(3 of 5) Deviation

Step 3 Column 4 shows the

squared deviations about
the mean.
Notice the farther an
observation is from the
mean, the larger
the squared deviation.

3-42 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Computing a Population Standard
(4 of 5) Deviation

Step 4 Sum the entries in Column 4 to obtain å ( xi - µ ) .

2

Divide this sum by the number of students, 10:

å( x - µ )
2
964
i
= = 96.4 points 2
N 10
Step 5 The square root of the result in Step 4 is the population
standard deviation.

å ( xi - µ )
2

s= = 96.4 points 2 » 9.8 points

N

3-43 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Computing a Sample Standard
(1 of 5) Deviation

Compute the sample standard

deviation of the sample obtained
in a previous example. In looking
back at Section 3.1, we see that
Jennifer (62), Juan (88), Ryanne
(77), and Dave (68) are in the
sample.

3-44 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Computing a Sample Standard
(2 of 5) Deviation
Step 1 Create a table with four columns. Enter the sample data
in Column 1. In Column 2, enter the unrounded sample mean.

3-45 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Computing a Sample Standard
(3 of 5) Deviation
Step 2 Column 3 contains the deviations about the mean for
each observation. For example, the deviation about the mean
for Jennifer is 62 – 73.75 = –11.75. It is a good idea to add the
entries in this column to make sure they sum to 0.

3-46 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Computing a Sample Standard
(4 of 5) Deviation
Step 3 Column 4 shows the squared deviations about the mean.

Step 4 Sum the entries in Column 4 to obtain å ( xi - x ) .

2

Divide the sum of the entries in Column 4 by one fewer than the
number of students, 4 – 1:
å (x - x)
2
384.75
s= i
= = 128.25 points 2
n -1 4 -1
Step 5 The square root of the result in Step 4 is the sample
standard deviation.
å( x - x )
2

s= i
= 128.25 points 2 » 11.3 points
n -1

3-47 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Determining the Standard Deviation
Using Technology

Use statistical software or a

calculator to determine the
population standard deviation of the
data listed in Table 8 and the sample
standard deviation of the sample
data from the previous example.

In StatCrunch (copy all scores

into the same column):
stats -> summary stats ->
columns

3-48 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 In-Class Activity #1

Please navigate to the “In-class 1” assignment and

complete the 3 problems to practice what we have learned.
Take the next ~5 minutes to get as far as you can, before
we go over the answers.

3-49 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interpretations of the Standard Deviation
Standard deviation represents the “typical” deviation from the
mean. As such, the standard deviation may be used to judge
whether a particular observation is “far away” from the mean
of a data set.

A good rule of thumb is to consider an observation “far away”

if it is more than 2 standard deviations from the other
observation (such as the mean).

3-50 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interpretations of the Standard Deviation
To find the exact number of standard deviations away from
the mean that a given value is, calculate:

𝑥 − 𝑥̅
𝜎

Hint: this will be helpful on the homework

A good rule of thumb is to consider an observation “far away”

if it is more than 2 standard deviations from the other
observation (such as the mean).

3-51 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Interpretations of the Standard Deviation

So, when judging the unusualness of an observation, it is

vital that you consider the underlying variation
in the data as measured by the standard deviation.

When comparing two populations, the larger the

standard deviation, the greater the dispersion, or
spread, of the distribution provided the variable of
interest from the two populations has the same unit of
measure.

3-52 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Comparing the Standard
(1 of 2) Deviations of Two Data Sets
Refer to the data in table 7, used in a previous example.
Use the standard deviation to determine whether
University A or University B has more dispersion in its
students’ IQ scores.

3-53 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Comparing the Standard
(2 of 2) Deviations of Two Data Sets
Enter the data into Minitab and compute the descriptive
statistics.

The sample standard deviation is larger for University A

(16.1) than for University B (8.4). Therefore, University A
has IQ scores that are more dispersed.

3-54 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Objective 3
• Determine the Variance of a Variable from
Raw Data

3-55 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 The variance of a variable is the square of the
standard deviation. The population variance
is σ2 and the sample variance is s2.

3-56 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Determining the Variance of a
Variable for a Population and a Sample
Use the results of s = 9.8 points and s = 11.3 points
from previous examples, to determine the population
and sample variance of test scores on the statistics
exam.

3-57 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 EXAMPLE Determining the Variance of a
Variable for a Population and a Sample
Use the results of s = 9.8 points and s = 11.3 points
from previous examples, to determine the population
and sample variance of test scores on the statistics
exam.
The population standard deviation was found to be
s = 9.8 points, so the population variance is
s 2 = (9.8 points2) = 96.04 points2.
The sample standard deviation was found to be
s = 11.3 points, so the sample variance is
s2 = (11.3 points2) = 127.7 points2.

3-58 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Objective 4
• Use the Empirical Rule to Describe Data That
Are Bell Shaped

3-59 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Empirical Rule
If a distribution is roughly bell shaped, then
• Approximately 68% of the data will lie within 1 standard
deviation of the mean. That is, approximately 68% of the data
lie between µ - 1s and µ + 1s .
• Approximately 95% of the data will lie within 2 standard
deviations of the mean. That is, approximately 95% of the
data lie between µ - 2s and µ + 2s .
• Approximately 99.7% of the data will lie within 3 standard
deviations of the mean. That is, approximately 99.7% of the
data lie between µ - 3s and µ + 3s .

Note: We can also use the Empirical Rule based on sample data
with x used in place of µ and s used in place of s .

3-60 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
3-61 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Using the Empirical Rule
(1 of 6)
Use the data from University A in Table 7.
(a) Determine the percentage of students who have IQ
scores within 3 standard deviations of the mean
according to the Empirical Rule.
(b) Determine the percentage of students who have IQ
scores between 67.8 and 132.2 according to the
Empirical Rule.
(c) Determine the actual percentage of students who have
IQ scores between 67.8 and 132.2.
(d) According to the Empirical Rule, what percentage of
students have IQ scores above 132.2?
3-62 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Using the Empirical Rule
(2 of 6)
To use the Empirical Rule, a histogram of the data must
be roughly bell shaped. The figure shows the histogram
drawn in Minitab of the data from University A.

3-63 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Using the Empirical Rule
(3 of 6)
The histogram is roughly bell shaped. From previous examples,
the mean IQ score of the students enrolled in University A is 100
and the standard deviation is 16.1.
To make the analysis easier, draw a bell-shaped curve like
the one shown below with x = 100 and s = 16.1.

3-64 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Using the Empirical Rule
(4 of 6)
(a) According to the Empirical Rule, approximately 99.7% of
the IQ scores are within 3 standard deviations of the mean
[that is, greater than or equal to 100 – 3(16.1) = 51.7 and less
than or equal to 100 + 3(16.1) = 148.3].

Figure (a) shows

a bell-shaped
curve with the
regions between
51.7 and 148.3
shaded.

3-65 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Using the Empirical Rule
(5 of 6)
(b) Since 67.8 is exactly 2 standard deviations below the mean
[100 – 2(16.1) = 67.8] and 132.2 is exactly 2 standard
deviations above the mean [100 + 2(16.1) = 132.2], the
Empirical Rule tells us that approximately 95% of the IQ
scores lie between 67.8 and 132.2.

Figure (b) shows

a bell-shaped
curve with the
regions between
67.8 and 132.2
shaded.

3-66 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Using the Empirical Rule
(6 of 6)
(c) Of the 100 IQ scores listed in Table 7, 96, or 96%, are
between 67.8 and 132.2. This is very close to the Empirical
Rule’s approximation.

(d) Based on Figure (c) approximately 2.35% + 0.15% = 2.5%

of students at University A will have IQ scores above 132.2.

Figure (c) shows a

bell-shaped curve
with the region to
the right of 132.2
shaded.

3-67 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 3.3 Measures of Central Tendency
and Dispersion from Grouped
Data
Learning Objectives
1. Approximate the mean of a variable from grouped
data
2. Compute the weighted mean

3-68 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Objective 1
• Approximate the mean of a variable from
grouped data (data available that have already
been summarized in frequency distributions)

3-69 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Approximate the Mean of a Variable from a
Frequency Distribution
First multiply each frequency and class midpoint; then add
the products.

(1)

where x is the midpoint or value of the a given class

f is the frequency of the same class

3-70 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example

Use the frequency distribution in the first two columns to find the
approximate mean for this dataset.

3-71 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example

Use the frequency distribution in the first two columns to find the
approximate mean for this dataset.

3-72 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example

Use the frequency distribution in the first two columns to find the
approximate mean for this dataset.

3-73 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Example

Use the frequency distribution in the first two columns to find the
approximate mean for this dataset.

1765.0
35.3

3-74 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
 Objective 2
• Compute the Weighted Mean

3-75 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The weighted mean, xw , of a variable is found by
multiplying each value of the variable by its
corresponding weight, adding these products, and
dividing this sum by the sum of the weights.

where w is the weight of the observation

x is the value of the observation

3-76 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Computing the Weighted Mean
In her first semester of college, a student of the author took five
courses. Her final grades, along with the number of credits for
each course, were A (3 credits), A (4 credits), B (3 credits), C (3
credits), and F (1 credit).
The grading system assigns quality points to letter grades as
follows: A = 4; B = 3; C = 2; D = 1; F = 0. Compute her grade-
point average.

Note: We set x = quality points and w = credits

3-77 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Computing the Weighted Mean
Solution
Use the numbers of credits as weights: w = 3, 4, 3, 3, 1.
Replace the letter grades of A, A, B, C, and F with the
corresponding quality points: x = 4, 4, 3, 2, 0.

3-78 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Computing the Weighted Mean
Solution
Use the numbers of credits as weights: w = 3, 4, 3, 3, 1.
Replace the letter grades of A, A, B, C, and F with the
corresponding quality points: x = 4, 4, 3, 2, 0.

3-79 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
EXAMPLE Computing the Weighted Mean

Note: using the preceding round-

off rule, the result should be
<-- First semester GPA
rounded to 3.1, but it is common
to round grade-point averages to
two decimal places.

3-80 Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved