2006-12-20 12:06:29 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Mean median and mode---if you meant measure of central tendency.
The verbal idea: central===in the middle, tendency===where things tend to end up, measure===numerical measure.
Mean is what people usually call "average," the add and dvidie algorithm
Median is the middle value, list all the numbers in order, top to bottom, and the median is in the middle (or the mean of the middle two if there is a tie for the middle).
Mode is the most frequent. (If it exists)
Each have their own merits and demerits. Mean is the most commonly used and what people understand and uses most, but it is sensitive to outliers. Good examples of that are salaries and property values. Mode often doesn't exist (no most common, for insatnce in a list where all entries occur just once, or several different entries occur equal number of times). Everyone hears of the outstanding deals that Soriano etc are making but the modal salary in MLB is the union negotiated league minimum. Finally, the median is often used for property values and salaries, right smack dab in the middle.
2006-12-20 12:08:42 · answer #1 · answered by a_math_guy 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Something that measures the center of a data set. Mean and Median are the most common. Mode is, sort of. The people who have replied so far miss the point of the mode (because it's not taught correctly).
The mode isn't necessarily the most frequent number, it is the location of a peak in the data. It is generally used to describe the shape, as in 'bimodal.' It refers to a distribution with two humps.
1,1,2,2,2,3,3,3,4,6,7,8,8,9,9,9,9,10,10,10,12,15
This set has two modes. One at 9 and one around 2 or 3. If you do a dotplot of the data you see two distinct humps, or modes.
There are other measures of center. Midrange is one. It is the point halfway between the smallest and largest number in the data set. It's often used in creating plots on computers. The plot is usually centered at the midrange.
Standard deviation is not a measure of center. It is a measure of spread.
2006-12-20 21:14:58 · answer #2 · answered by MathGuy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mean, median, and mode. These help you figure out the "average" value of a data set.
2006-12-20 20:13:44 · answer #3 · answered by Professor Maddie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mean (average)
Median (middle)
Mode (most)
'Range' is usually thrown into the mix as well.
2006-12-20 20:12:21 · answer #4 · answered by That One Girl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
standard deviation
here's a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_deviation
2006-12-20 20:14:45 · answer #5 · answered by dax 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋