Measures of Central Tendency

1. Measures of Central Tendency Mean, Median, & Mode

2. Measures of Central Tendency • When you want to represent a set of data by using only one number, you use a measure of central tendency • 1) Mean the average of the data • 2) Median  the middle number (in an odd set)  the mean of the middle two numbers (in an even set) • 3)Mode  the number that appears the most

3. Example 1 • A small company consists of a president and 8 employees whose weekly salaries are $2000, $500, $500, $525, $535, $550, $560, $575, and $600. Determine the mean, median, and mode of these salaries.

4. Example Mean = Total salaries d Number of employees 2000 + 500 + 500 + 525 + 535 + 550 + 560 + 575 + 600 9 1 president and 8 employees = 6345 9 = 705

5. Example Median  Put the numbers in order from smallest to largest 500 500 525 535 550 560 575 600 2000 550 This is an odd set of numbers, so the Median is the middle number, $ 550 Mode The Mode in this set of numbers is $500, because it occurs most often.

6. Solution • Mean  $ 705 • Median  $ 550 • Mode  $ 500 • Which measure best represents the data? • The Median best reflects the data. • Medians are least affected by extreme values and are often the measure reported in newspaper articles