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Question

The mean and median of the distribution is 12 and 15. Then the mode equals to:

This question was previously asked in
SSC CGL 2020 (Tier-2) Statistics Previous Year Paper 3 (28-Jan-2022)
The correct answer is

21

Finding the Mode from Mean and Median

The question asks us to find the mode of a distribution given its mean and median. In statistics, for moderately skewed distributions, there is an empirical relationship between the mean, median, and mode. This relationship is often expressed by the formula:

Mode \(\approx\) 3 \(\times\) Median - 2 \(\times\) Mean

This formula is particularly useful when the distribution is not symmetrical but also not extremely skewed, as it provides a good estimate for the mode.

Applying the Empirical Formula

We are given the following values:

  • Mean = 12
  • Median = 15

Now, we can substitute these values into the empirical formula to calculate the estimated mode:

Mode \(\approx\) 3 \(\times\) Median - 2 \(\times\) Mean

Mode \(\approx\) 3 \(\times\) 15 - 2 \(\times\) 12

Mode \(\approx\) 45 - 24

Mode \(\approx\) 21

Based on the empirical formula, the estimated mode of the distribution is 21.

Comparing with Options

Let's compare our calculated mode with the given options:

  1. 21
  2. 24
  3. 15
  4. 18

Our calculated value of 21 matches Option 1.

Summary of Calculation

We used the empirical relationship between the measures of central tendency to estimate the mode.

Given:

  • Mean = 12
  • Median = 15

Formula: Mode \(\approx\) 3 * Median - 2 * Mean

Calculation:

Mode \(\approx\) 3 * 15 - 2 * 12

Mode \(\approx\) 45 - 24

Mode \(\approx\) 21

Therefore, the mode is approximately 21.

Revision Table: Mean, Median, and Mode Relationship

Measure Given Value Role in Formula
Mean 12 Used in the formula: 2 \(\times\) Mean
Median 15 Used in the formula: 3 \(\times\) Median
Mode To be found Estimated using the formula

Additional Information: Measures of Central Tendency

Mean, median, and mode are three common measures of central tendency that represent a typical value in a dataset. Understanding their relationship is important in statistics.

  • Mean: The average of all values. It is sensitive to extreme values (outliers).
  • Median: The middle value in a dataset that has been ordered from least to greatest. It is not affected by extreme values.
  • Mode: The value that appears most frequently in a dataset. A dataset can have one mode (unimodal), multiple modes (multimodal), or no mode.

The empirical formula Mode \(\approx\) 3 * Median - 2 * Mean is based on observed data and is a rule of thumb, not a strict mathematical identity that holds for all distributions. It works best for distributions that are moderately skewed. In a perfectly symmetrical distribution, the mean, median, and mode are all equal.

  • For a positively skewed distribution (tail on the right), typically Mean > Median > Mode.
  • For a negatively skewed distribution (tail on the left), typically Mode > Median > Mean.

The formula used helps estimate the mode's position relative to the mean and median in such skewed distributions.

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Similar Questions

  1. The average of 25 numbers is 36. If the average of first 13 numbers is 32 and that of the last 13 numbers is 39, then the 13th number is

  2. Calculate the mode of the following frequency distribution

    Seconds

    51-55

    56-60

    61-65

    66-70

    Frequency

    2

    7

    8

    4

  3. The approximate harmonic mean of 8, 6, 12, 4 is:

  4. The mode (correct to two decimal places) for the given data is:

    Class-   interval

    Frequency

     0-10

     6 

     10-20

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     20-30

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  5. The arithmetic mean of marks of the students for the given data is:

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    0-10

    12

    10-20

    18

    20-30

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    30-40

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  6. The incomes of the employees in a state is assumed to be normally distributed with mean Rs.15,000 and variance Rs. 900. The median of the distribution of the income is:

  7. If the median of the observations 2, 3, 5, 6, x, 8, 9, is 6 then x CANNOT be equal to:

  8. For a moderately skewed distribution, let mode = 15, median = 17.4. The value of mean is:

  9. For the data set with the following observations, the first and second quartiles are:

    20, 22, 23, 22, 23, 22, 22, 21, 19, 22, 22, 26, 23, 24, 19, 21, 22, 16

  10. For an asymmetric distribution, if the mean and median are 20 and 30, then the value of the mode is:


Important Questions from Measures of Central Tendency

  1. A random sample of 20 people is classified in the following table according to their ages:

    Age

    Frequency

    15 – 25

    2

    25 – 35

    4

    35 – 45

    6

    45 – 55

    5

    55 - 65

    3

    What is the mean age of this group of people?

  2. The median of the following observations 46, 64, 87, 41, 58, 77, 35, 90, 55, 92, 33 is 58. If 92 is replaced by 99 and 41 by 43 in the above data. The new median is:

  3. If the difference of mode and median is 36, then the difference of median and mean is:

  4. In a Mathematics test 15 students scored 80 marks, 20 students scored 75 marks, 28 students scored 65 marks and 25 students scored 60 marks, mode of the score is:

  5. If the mode of the scores 10, 12, 13, 15, 15, 13, 12, 10, x is 15, then what is the value of x?

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