Q1
The following frequency distribution gives the monthly consumption of electricity of 68 consumers of a locality. Find the median, mean and mode of the data and compare them.
Monthly consumption (in units) — Number of consumers
65–85 : 4
85–105 : 5
105–125 : 13
125–145 : 20
145–165 : 14
165–185 : 8
185–205 : 4
Solution
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Compute class-marks and :
-
Mean
-
Median
.
Median class: .
Median formula:
-
Mode
Modal class = class with largest frequency = with
(preceding), (succeeding),
Comparison / Interpretation:
Mean , Median , Mode — all three measures are very close, indicating a fairly symmetric distribution around about 136–137 units.
Q2
If the median of the distribution given below is , find the values of and .
Class interval — Frequency
0–10 : 5
10–20 :
20–30 : 20
30–40 : 15
40–50 :
50–60 : 5
Total = 60
Solution
Median is → it lies in class . Use median formula:
Here , so . Median class: with . c.f. before = frequency up to previous class = .
Median:
So
Now total frequencies:
Substitute :
Answer:
Q3
A life insurance agent found the following data for distribution of ages of 100 policy holders (cumulative ‘below’ form). Calculate the median age, if policies are given only to persons having age 18 years onwards but less than 60 years.
Age (in years) — Number of policy holders (Below …)
Below 20 : 2
Below 25 : 6
Below 30 : 24
Below 35 : 45
Below 40 : 78
Below 45 : 89
Below 50 : 92
Below 55 : 98
Below 60 :100
Solution
First convert to class frequencies (by differences):
Total . Median position . Cumulative frequencies:
Median class = . Use:
Q4
The lengths of 40 leaves of a plant are measured correct to the nearest millimetre; the data:
Length (mm) — Number of leaves
118–126 : 3
127–135 : 5
136–144 : 9
145–153 : 12
154–162 : 5
163–171 : 4
172–180 : 2
Find the median length of the leaves.
(Hint: convert to continuous classes: 117.5–126.5, 126.5–135.5, …, 171.5–180.5.)
Solution
Use continuous class limits (class-width ):
Median class:
c.f. before
Q5
The following table gives the distribution of the life time of 400 neon lamps. Find the median life time.
Life time (hours) — Number of lamps
1500–2000 : 14
2000–2500 : 56
2500–3000 : 60
3000–3500 : 86
3500–4000 : 74
4000–4500 : 62
4500–5000 : 48
Solution
Total . Cumulative frequencies:
Median class =
Answer can be rounded:
Q6
100 surnames were picked; frequency distribution of number of letters:
Number of letters — Number of surnames
1–4 : 6
4–7 : 30
7–10 : 40
10–13 : 16
13–16 : 4
16–19 : 4
Determine the median number of letters and find the mean number of letters.
Solution
-
Median
Cumulative frequencies:
Use continuous limits with class-width (e.g. 0.5–4.5, 4.5–7.5, 7.5–10.5 …). Median class interval in continuous form = So c.f. before = 36.
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Mean
Class-marks : 2.5, 5.5, 8.5, 11.5, 14.5, 17.5
Frequencies : 6, 30, 40, 16, 4, 4
Compute :
