The Mode
The mode of a set of numbers is the number which occurs most often.
In a set of data, there can be more than one mode. A set with two modes is bi-modal, a set with three modes is tri-modal, etc. There can also be a data set with no mode.
Example 1:
Find the mode of the set {4, 5, 7, 7, 9, 11, 11, 11, 12, 14}
In the data set, the numbers 4, 5, 9, 12, and 14 each occur once.
The number 7 occurs twice and 11 occurs three times.
So, the mode of the data set is 11.
Example 2:
Find the mode of the set {14, 19, 22, 22, 26, 27, 29, 33, 44, 55, 55}
In the data set, the numbers 14, 19, 26, 27, 29, 33, and 44 each occur once.
The numbers 22 and 55 occurs twice.
In this case, the data set has two modes, so it is bi-modal.
The modes are 22 and 55.
The mode can be used as a measure of central tendency of a data set.
