6 Statistics
Let’s study.
· Measures of a central tendency-
mean, median and mode from grouped frequency table.
· Graphical representation of statistical data -
histogram, frequency polygon, pie diagram
Statistics is useful in many fields of life: for example, agriculture, economics,
commerce, medicine, botany, biotechnology, physics, chemistry, education, sociology,
administration etc. An experiment can have many outcomes. To assess the possibility
of possible outcomes, one has to carry out the experiment on a large scale and keep
the record meticulously. Possibilities of different outcomes can be assessed using
the record. For this purpose, rules are formulated in statistics.
Francis Galton (1822-1911) has done much of fundamental work in
[Link] used to prepare questionnaires, distribute
them among people and request them to fill them up.
He collected information from a number of people
and recorded their backgrounds, financial situations,
likes and dislikes, health etc. on a large scale. By that
time, it was known that the fingerprints of different
people are different. He collected finger-prints of a
large number of people and invented a method of their Francis Galton
classification. Using statistical methods, he showed that the possibility of
finger prints of two different people being identical is nearly zero. This result
made it possible to identify a person from his finger-prints. This method of
identifying criminals was accepted in the judiciary. He had done much work
in the field of anthropology of humans and other animals also.
Let’s recall.
We usually find a specific property in the numerical data collected in a survey
that the scores have a tendency to cluster around a particular score. This score is
a representative number of the group. The number is called the measure of central
tendency.
In the previous standards we have studied the measures of central tendency,
namely the mean, median and mode, for ungrouped data.
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Activity 1 : Measure the height in cm of all students in your class. We find that
the heights of many students cluster near a specific number.
Activity 2 : Collect a number of fallen leaves of a peepal tree. Distribute the
leaves among the students and ask them to measure the lengths of them. Record
the lengths. We notice that their lengths tend to cluster around a number.
Now we are going to do some more study of the mean, median and mode. Let
us know the symbols and the terminology required for it.
N
The sum of all scores xi
The mean of statistical data = Total no. of scores = i 1
N
(Here xi is the i th score)
Mean is denoted by X and it represents the average of the given data.
N
xi
X = i 1
N
Let’s learn.
Mean from classified frequency distribution
When the number of scores in a data is large, it becomes tedious to write all
numbers in the above formula and take their sum. So we use some different methods
to find the sum.
Sometimes, the large data collected from an experiment is presented in a table
in the grouped form. In such a case, we cannot find the exact mean of statistical data.
Hence, let us study a method which gives the approximate mean, or a number nearby.
Direct method
Let us study the method by an example.
Ex. : The following table shows the frequency distribution of the time required for
each worker to complete a work . From the table find the mean time required to
complete the job for a worker.
Time (Hrs.) for each to complete the work 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39
No. of workers 10 15 12 8 5
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Solution :
(1) Vertical columns are drawn as Class Class Frequency Class mark ´
shown in the table. mark (No. of Frequency
(2) Classes are written in the first (Time-
Workers)
column. hours) xi fi xi fi
(3) The class mark xi is in the second 15-19 17 10 170
column.
(4) In the third column, the number 20-24 22 15 330
of workers, that is frequency (fi) 25-29 27 12 324
is written.
30-34 32 8 256
(5) In the fourth column, the product
(xi ´ fi) for each class is written. 35-39 37 5 185
å fi = 50 å xi fi =
N
(6) Then xi fi is written. Total
i 1
1265
(7) The mean is found using the
formula å xi fi \
Mean = X = = 1265 = 25.3 å fi = N
N 50
The mean time required to complete the work for a worker = 25.3 hrs. (Approx)
ÒÒÒ Solved Examples ÒÒÒ
Ex. (1) The percentage of marks of 50 students in a test is given in the following table.
Find the mean of the percentage.
Percentage of marks 0-20 20-40 40-60 60-80 80-100
No. of students 3 7 15 20 5
Solution : The following table is prepared as per steps.
Class Class Frequency Class mark ´
(No. of
å xi fi
(Percentage of mark frequency X=
marks) xi students) xi fi å fi
fi
2840
0-20 10 3 30 = 50
20-40 30 7 210 = 56.8
40-60 50 15 750 \ The mean of
60-80 70 20 1400
the percentage
80-100 90 5 450
= 56.8
Total N = å fi = 50 å xi fi = 2840
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