Chapter 3

Mean (arithmetic mean, average)

Measures of Central Tendency
Population mean:

   or 
x 1
 x
N N
Sample mean:

x
 x or  1  x
n n

Median Odd number of observations

100 102 105 108 110 116 120 125 132 140 155
- the middle observation in a sorted
data set. n = 11 and (n+1)/2 = 6

M  x n 1  The median is the 6th observation.

 
 2 

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Chapter 3

Even number of observations

100 102 105 108 110 116 120 125 132 140 The mean is more strongly influenced
by extreme values than the median.
n = 10 and (n+1)/2 = 5.5
The median is the average of observations
number 5 and 6.
110  116
M=  113
2

8
7
6
Mean = 123.6 Mean Median
10 12 14 16 18 14 14
Frequency

5
4
Median = 120
3
10 12 14 16 180 46.4 14
2
1
BDL 12 14 16 18 * 14
0
105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 160 165
Fattening Period (days)

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Chapter 3

Mode

- the most frequent observation in a

data set (usually a discrete variable).

Some distributions have multiple

peaks (bi- or tri-modal).