What is Mode in Statistics?
You will need to be able to answer the question “What is Mode” on your entrance exam. The mode is the most frequently occurring value within a data set. The basic definition of mode is that it is the most common value in a set of numbers.
[WpProQuiz 41]
What is Mode – Example:
For example, look at the data set: 8, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 4, 8, 5, 9, 8, 10, 6, 7
Here, we have a data set that contains 14 numbers.
To find the mode, we need to determine which of the values occurs the most frequently in the set.
For data sets with 20 or fewer items, it can be helpful to put the numbers in ascending order before trying to find the mode.
Our data set is: 8, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 4, 8, 5, 9, 8, 10, 6, 7
In ascending order, it looks like this: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10
When the numbers are in order from lowest to highest, we can easily see that the number 8 occurs three times.
Other numbers occur only one or two times in the list.
So, the mode is 8.
For larger data sets, you simply have to try to count which of the numbers occurs the most frequently.
You may need to draw a line through the numbers you have counted or keep a tally in order to keep track.
You can also set up a frequency table in order to determine the mode.
Multiple Modes and No Mode
So, what happens if two or more values occur the same number of times? Is there a mode?
Consider the following data set: 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6
The modes of this data set are 3 and 4.
In other words, we can say that the data set is bimodal.
So, a data set can have multiple modes.
It is also possible for a data set to have no mode, if no value appears more than once in the data set.
What is Mode – Practical Problems
Questions about mode on your entrance exam are usually worded as practical problems.
You will see questions including data sets on weights, measurements, temperatures, ages, scores, incomes, population sizes, and other numerical values.
The data may be given in narrative form in your exam question.
Alternatively, you might see data summarized in a chart or table.
You exam question might ask: What is the mode?
Exam questions might also be worded as follows: What is the modal value?
You can learn more about mode from the Math is Fun website.