Lecture 08

Combined Arithmetic Mean

For ‘k’ subgroups of data consisting of ‘n1, n2, …,nk’ observations (with ∑𝑘𝑖=1 𝑛𝑖 = 𝑛), having
respective means, 𝑥̅1 , 𝑥̅2 , …, 𝑥̅𝑘 .
Then combined mean (mean of the all ‘k’ means) is given by:

𝑛1 𝑥̅1 + 𝑛2 𝑥̅2 + ⋯ + 𝑛𝑘 𝑥̅𝑘 ∑𝑘𝑖=1 𝑛𝑖 𝑥̅𝑖 ∑𝑘𝑖=1 𝑛𝑖 𝑥̅𝑖

𝑥̅𝑐 = = 𝑘 =
𝑛1 + 𝑛2 + ⋯ + 𝑛𝑘 ∑𝑖=1 𝑛𝑖 𝑛
Example:The mean heights and the number of students in three sections of a statistics class are
given below:

Calculate overall (or combined) mean height of the students.

Solution: Note that we have, n1=40, n2=37, n3=43 and 𝑥̅1=62, 𝑥̅2 =58 and 𝑥̅3 =61.So, combined
𝑛1 𝑥̅ 1 +𝑛2 𝑥̅ 2 +𝑛3 𝑥̅3
meanis:𝑥̅𝑐 = = 60.4 inches
𝑛1 +𝑛2 +𝑛3

Merits and De-Merits of Arithmetic Mean

Merits of Arithmetic Mean are:

 Easy to calculate and understand.
 Based on all observations.
 Can be expressed by a mathematical formula.

De-Merits of Arithmetic Mean are:

 It is greatly affected by extreme values.
Example: Mean of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 is 3.If we change last number 5 to 20 then mean is 6.
Note that 6 is not a representative number as most of the data in this case is below the
average (i.e. 6).
 Works well only in case of symmetric distributions and performs poorly in case of
skewed distributions.
 Bipolar case misrepresented (e.g. 50% of the students in a class got full marks and
remaining 50% got zero marks).
 If the grouped data has ‘open-end’ classes, then mean can not be calculated without
assuming the limits.
 High growth + Increasing Poverty (e.g. if have 10 individuals and nine of them are poor
with income Rs. 10,000 each and one is very rich with income Rs. 100,000.So the
average income is Rs. 19000. Now if we double the income of rich individual and reduce
the income of poor by half. Then average income of ten individuals will be Rs. 24500.
Example 1: Marks obtained by 5 students, 20, 15, 5, 25, 10
Solution:
 Arrange the data in ascending order. 3, 10, 15, 20, 25
 Compute an index i=(n/2)
wheren=5 is the number of observations.
i=(n/2)=5/2=2.5
Since i=2/5 is not an integer,so the next integer greater than 2.5 is 3, which gives the
position of the Median.At third position, we have number 15.
Hence Median=13

Example 2: Run made by a cricket player in 4 matches: 30, 70, 10, 20

Solution:
 Arrange the data in ascending order. 10, 20, 30, 70
 Compute an index i=(n/2)
wheren=4 is the number of observations.
i=(4/2)=2
Since i=2 is an integer,
soMedian is the average of the values in positions i and i+1.
i.e. Median is the average of the values in positions 2and 3.
At position 2, we have number 20.
At position 3, we have number 30.
Hence Median=average of 20 and 30= (20+30)/2=50/2=25

Median for Grouped Data

ℎ 𝑛
Formulae for calculating Median in case of Grouped data is:𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 = 𝑙 + 𝑓 ( 2 − 𝐶)
Where, 𝑙=lower class boundary of the Median Class
𝑓=Frequency of the Median Class
𝑛 = ∑ 𝑓=Total Frequency
𝐶 = Cumulative Frequency preceding the Median Class
ℎ=Width of class interval

Example: Calculate Median for the distribution of examination marks provided below:
Marks No of Students (f)
30-39 8
40-49 87
50-59 190
60-69 304
70-79 211
 80-89 85
90-99 20
Solution:
Step 1: Calculate Class Boundaries
Step 2: Calculate Cumulative Frequency (cf)
Step 3: Find Median Class. This can be done by calculating Median using formula,
Median=Marks obtained by (n/2)th student=905/2=452.5th student
Locate 452.5 in the Cumulative Freq. column.Hence59.5-69.5 is the Median Class.
Step 4: Find 𝑙, ℎ, 𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶. Note that h=10
Marks Class Boundaries No of Students (f) Cumulative Freq (cf)
30-39 29.5-39.5 8 8
40-49 39.5-49.5 87 95
50-59 49.5-59.5 190 285=C
60-69 l=59.5-69.5 304=f 589
70-79 69.5-79.5 211 800
80-89 79.5-89.5 85 885
90-99 89.5-99.5 20 905

Step 5: Calculate Median using following formula

ℎ 𝑛
𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 = 𝑙 + ( − 𝐶)
𝑓 2
10 905 10
𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 = 59.5 + ( − 589) == 59.5 + (452.5 − 589) =65 Marks
304 2 304

Merits of Median
Merits of Median are:
 Easy to calculate and understand.
 Median works well in case of Symmetric as well as in skewed distributions as opposed to
Mean which works well only in case of Symmetric Distributions.
 It is NOT affected by extreme values.
Example:Median of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 is 3.If we change last number 5 to 20, i.e. 20 is an
extreme value compared to 1, 2, 3 and 4 then Median will still be 3.Hence Median is
not affected by extreme values.

De-Merits of Median
De-Merits of Median are:
 It requires the data to be arranged in some order which can be time consuming and
tedious, though now-a-days we can sort the data via computer very easily.