MODE

Mode is defined as the value that occurs most frequently in the data.
Some data sets do not have a mode because each value occurs only
once. On the other hand, some data sets can have more than one
mode. This happens when the data set has two or more values of
equal frequency which is greater than that of any other value. Mode
is rarely used as a summary statistic except to describe a bimodal
distribution. In a bimodal distribution, the taller peak is called the
major mode and the shorter one is the minor mode.

The mode is the most repeated value in a distribution.

It is represented by Mo.

It is possible to find the mode for categorical and quantitative

variables.

1. Find the mode of the following distribution:

2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5

Mo= 4

If a group has two or more scores with the same frequency and that
frequency is the maximum, the distribution is bimodal or
multimodal, that is to say, it has several modes.

1, 1, 1, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 7, 8, 9, 9, 9

Mo= 1, 5, 9

When the scores of a group all have the same frequency, there is no
mode.

2, 2, 3, 3, 6, 6, 9, 9

If two adjacent values are the maximum frequency, the average of

the two adjacent scores is the mode.

0, 1, 3, 3, 5, 5, 7, 8 Mo = 4
Grouped Mode

The formula for the mode of grouped data is as follows.

-1

Element Description
Group mode
The lower limit of the group with the mode (the group
with the highest frequency)
or f Frequency of the group with the mode
or f-1 Frequency of the group before the one with the mode
or f+1 Frequency of the group after the one with the mode
The width of the groups
Example – 1

Find the group mode of the following data.

Students Frequency
1-3 135
4-6 457 fm-1
7-9 549 fm
10-12 392 fm+1
Solution:

The estimation of the mode can be found by following the steps

below.

Element Value
6.5
549
457
392
3

6.5 + (549-457)/[(549-457)+(549-392)]

6.5 + 92/(92+157)=7.6
Meaning the estimation of the mode is 7.6.
The Classes Have Different Widths.
First, find the heights.

The modal class is the one with the greatest height.

Example

The following table shows the scores of a group of 50 students.

Calculate the mode.

fi hi

[0, 5) 15 15/(5-0)=3 fm-1

[5, 7) 20 20/(7-5)=10 fm

[7, 9) 12 6 fm+1

[9, 10) 3 3

50
Example: The ages of the 112 people who live on a tropical island are
grouped as follows:

Age Number Cf

0-9 20 20

10 - 19 21 41

20 - 29 23 64

30 - 39 16 80

40 - 49 11 91

50 - 59 10 101

60 - 69 7 108

70 - 79 3 111

80 - 89 1 112

Solution:

The Modal group is the one with the highest frequency, which is 20 -
29:

• L = 20 (the lower class boundary of the modal class)

• fm-1 = 21
• fm = 23
• fm+1 = 16
• w = 10

Estimated Mode= 19.5 + (23 – 21)/[(23 − 21) + (23 − 16)] × 10

= 19.5 + 2.22...
= 21.7 (to 1 decimal)
Example: You measure the heights of 50 students to the nearest cms
and group the results:

Length
Frequency
(cm)

150 - 154 5

155 - 159 2

160 - 164 6

165 - 169 8

170 - 174 9

175 - 179 11

180 - 184 6

185 - 189 3

Solution:

The Modal group is the one with the highest frequency, which is 175 -
179:

• L = 174.5 (the lower class boundary of the 175 - 179 group)

• fm-1 = 9
• fm = 11
• fm+1 = 6
• w=5

Estimated Mode= 174.5 + 11 − 9(11 − 9) + (11 − 6) × 5

= 174.5 + 1.42...
= 175.9 cm (to 1 decimal
Advantages
1. It is the only measure of central tendency that can be used for
data measured in a nominal scale.
2. It can be calculated easily.

Disadvantages
1. It is not used in statistical analysis as it is not algebraically
defined and the fluctuation in the frequency of observation is
more when the sample size is small.

Exercise:

1. The table below gives the number of guests staying in 60 hotel

rooms on a particular day.

Number of guests Number of hotel rooms

2-4 8
4-6 20
6-8 12
8-10 11
10-12 9
Find the mode of this data. Mode = 5.2
4+2*(20-8)/[(20-8)+(20-12)]
4 + 24/20=4+1.2=5.2
 2. The table below gives the distance covered to reach office
by 25 people surveyed.

Distance Number of people

2-10 3
10-18 8
18-26 5
26-34 4
34-42 5
Find the mode of this data.
 3. The table below gives the number of family members
in 20 households.

Family size Number of families

1-3 6
3-5 8
5-7 2
7-9 2
9-11 2

Find the mode of this data.

Find the Mode of the following problems.

4. The ages of students in a small primary school were recorded in
the table below.
5. The table shows the distribution of scores or 40 students on a
Mathematics test.
 6. A salesman keeps a record of the number of shops he visits each
day.

Shops visited 0 – 9 10 – 19 20 – 29 30 – 39 40 – 49

Frequency 3 8 24 60 21
 7. A teacher notes the number of correct answers given by a class
on a multiple-choice test.
Correct answers 1 – 10 11 – 20 21 – 30 31 – 40 41 – 50

Frequency 2 8 15 11 3
Relationship between Mean, Median and Mode
We will understand the empirical relationship between mean,
median, and mode by means of a frequency distribution graph. We
can divide the relationship into four different cases:

1. In the case of a moderately skewed distribution, i.e. in general,

the difference between mean and mode is equal to three times
the difference between the mean and median. Thus, the
empirical relationship as

Mean – Mode = 3 (Mean – Median).

Mode = 3Median – 2 Mean

3Median = 2Mean + Mode

Median = 2/3(Mean + 1/2Mode)

2. In the case of a frequency distribution which has a symmetrical

frequency curve, the empirical relation states that mean =
median = mode.

1. In the case of a positively skewed frequency distribution curve,

mean > median > mode.
 4. In the case of negatively skewed frequency distribution mean <
median < mode.

We have understood the difference between the mean, median and

mode and also its relationship. Let us continue understanding the
relationship between mean, median and mode formula with the help
of an example:-
Example 1:

It is given that in a moderately skewed distribution, median = 10 and

mean = 12. Using these values, find the approximate value of mode.

Solution: Let us take mode to be ‘x’. We have been given that the
median = 10 and mean = 12. Now, using the relationship between
mean mode and median we get, (Mean – Mode) = 3 (Mean – Median)

So, 12 – x = 3 (12 – 10)

12 – x = 3*2

12 - x = 6

-x = -6 or x = 6

So, Mode = 6
Example 2:

Find out the mean when you are given that the median = 20.6 and the
mode = 26.

Solution: Let us take a mean to be ‘x’. We have been given that the
median = 20.6 and mean = 26. Now, using the relationship between
mean, mode, and median, we get - (Mean – Mode) = 3 (Mean –
Median)

So, x - 26 = 3 (x – 20.6)

x - 26 = 3x - 61.8

-2x = -35.8

x = 17.9

So, Mean = 17.9

Example 3: In a moderately skewed distribution, the median is 20 and

the mean is 22.5. Using these values, find the approximate value of
the mode.
Solution:
Given,
Mean = 22.5
Median = 20
Mode = x
Now, using the relationship between mean mode and median we get,
(Mean – Mode) = 3 (Mean – Median)
So,
22.5 – x = 3 (22.5 – 20)
22.5 – x = 7.5
∴ x = 15
So, Mode = 15.
Exercise:
1. Given Median = 20.6 and Mode = 26 find Mean

2. Given Mean = 25.4 and Median = 27 find Mode

3. The following data gives the consumption of electricity.
Calculate the Mean consumption, Median and hence from
relationship find mode. Check with mode obtained by
calculation.
Mean = sum of f*x/sum of f = 804.65
Median = 783.333=783.33
Mode = 740.6 783.333
Mode by formulae 714

No of units Class No of F*x CF

Mid consumers f
Value
X
0-200 100 8 800 8
200-400 300 17 5100 25
400-600 500 28 14000 53
600-800 700 36 25200 89
800-1000 900 30 27000 119
1000-1200 1100 24 26400 143
1200-1400 1300 18 23400 161
1400-1600 1500 11 16500 172
138400 804.65
4. The following data represents age distribution of 72 employees
of the company. Calculate the Mean age, Median and hence
from relationship find mode. Check with mode obtained by
calculation.

Age in 20-25 25-30 30-35 35-40 40-45 45-50 50-55

yrs
No of 8 12 20 16 9 4 3
persons
5. Calculate the average tax, Median and Mode for the following
data:

Tax in Rs No of employees
1000-3999 12
4000-6999 21
7000-9999 24
10000-12999 36
13000-15999 16
16000-18999 6
6. Calculate the mean, median and mode for the following data and
verify mode with relation of mean, median and mode.

No of units produced No of Factories

50-99 5
100-149 8
150-199 10
200-249 16
250-299 12
300-349 8
350-399 2
 7. Calculate the arithmetic mean for the following data

Age (in No of
years) Persons
Below 10 12
Below 20 28
Below 30 36
Below 40 54
Below 50 60
Below 60 70
 8. Calculate the arithmetic mean for the following data

Age (in No of
years) Persons
Greater 80
than 10
Greater 72
than 20
Greater 67
than 30
Greater 51
than 40
Greater 26
than 50
Greater 13
than 60
Geater 0
than 70
 Simple Questions (1 Mark)

1. Further Mathematical treatment is possible on the _________

obtained. (Mean/Median/Mode)

2. ________ is not affected by extreme values. (Mean/Median)

3. Mean > Median > Mode (True/False)
4. When the distribution of the data is not symmetrical, ________
is an appropriate average. (Median/Mode)
5. Median of the data 12, 3, 9, 14, 5, 11, 7, 20 is (9, 10, 11, 12)
6. Mean is 6, find missing value
X 2 3 5 6 7 9 13
F 3 5 - 4 2 3 3
7. Requisites of a Good Average:
i) It should be based on all observations.
ii) It should not be affected by extreme values.
iii) It should be easy to understand and easy to calculate.
iv) It should be capable of further algebraic treatment.
A) I,ii B) I, iii C) I, ii, iii D) I, ii, iii, iv
8. A bivariate frequency distribution represents frequencies with
reference to _____ variables at a time. (one/two)
9. Pie charts are divided into _________ to represent values of
different sizes. (Sections/Circles)
10. is the process of arranging data into homogeneous (similar)
groups according to their common characteristics.
(classification/sorting)
11. ______ data cannot be easily understood, and it is not fit for
further analysis and interpretation. This arrangement of data
helps users in comparison and analysis. (Raw/Sorted.
12. “Classification is the process of arranging data into ________
according to their common characteristics or Separating them
into different related parts.” (Series/Sequences)
13. Variables which are capable of taking an only exact value and
not any fractional value are termed as _________ variables.
(Continuous/Discrete)
14. It is also known as ‘_______ Classification’. (Spatial/Temporal)
15. Profits of a company from 2001 to 2005 is the type of _______
classification. (Spatial/Temporal)