Mode
Mode
The mode of a set of data values is the value that appears most often. It is the value x at which its probability mass function takes its maximum value. In other words, it is the value that is most likely to be sampled.
Video: How to find the mode of a set of numbers.
Like the statistical mean and median, the mode is a way of expressing, in a (usually) single number, important information about a random variable or a population. The numerical value of the mode is the same as that of the mean and median in a normal distribution, and it may be very different in highly skewed distributions.
Mode of a sample
The mode of a sample is the element that occurs most often in the collection. For example, the mode of the sample [1, 3, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 12, 12, 17] is 6. Given the list of data [1, 1, 2, 4, 4] the mode is not unique – the dataset may be said to be bimodal, while a set with more than two modes may be described as multimodal.
Comparison of mean, median and mode
Geometric visualisation of the mode, median and mean of an arbitrary probability density function.
Video: What are Mean, Median and Mode?
| Type | Description | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Arithmetic mean
|
Sum of values of a data set divided by number of values:
|
(1+2+2+3+4+7+9) / 7
|
4
|
|
|
‹ Median video up Mode review ›
