Mode

Mode is defined as that value which occurs the

maximum number of times i.e. having maximum
frequency.

For example, if the data is:

Size of shoes 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Number of 10 20 25 40 22 15 16
persons

The modal size is 8 since it appears maximum number

of times in the data.
 or
Wages per month 2000 3000 4000 5000 7000 9000 10000
Rs.
Number of persons 100 200 250 400 220 150 160

The modal wage of a group of workers is 5000 since

the largest number of workers receive this wage
and as such this wage may be considered as the
representative wage of the group.
 Why mode is used?

There are many situations in which arithmetic mean and

median fail to reveal the true characteristics of data.
For example:- when we talk of most common wage, most
common income, most common height, most common size
of shoes or ready made garments, we have in mind mode
and not the arithmetic mean or median discussed earlier.
The modal wage of a group of workers is that wage which
the largest number of worker receive and as such this wage
may be considered as the representative wage of the group.
The mean does not always provide an accurate
reflection of the data due to the presence of extreme
values.

Median may also prove to be quite representative of

the data due to uneven distribution of the series.
For example:- the values in the lower half of a
distribution ranges from, say, Rs. 10 to 100,while
the same number of items in the upper half of the
series ranges from Rs.100 to 6000 with most of them
near the higher limit. In such a distribution the
median value Rs.100 will provide little indication of
the true nature of the data. Mode is used in
business, because it is most likely to occur
 Calculation of Mode

From a simple frequency distribution, mode can be

determined by inspection only. It is the value of the variable
which corresponds to the largest frequency. For example,
Wages per month 2000 3000 4000 5000 7000 9000 10000
Rs.
Number of persons 100 200 250 400 220 150 160

The modal wage of a group of workers is 5000 which can be

determined by inspection only.
 Mode from grouped frequency
distribution
From a grouped frequency distribution, it is
difficult to find the mode accurately. However, if
all classes are of equal width, mode is usually
calculated by the following formula,
 d1
Mode = I1 + -------------- x c
d1 + d2

or
f0 – f -1
Mode = I1 + ----------------------- x c
2f0 - f -1 - f 1

Where,
I1 = Lower boundary of the modal class.
d1 = f0 – f -1 = The difference between the frequency of the modal class and the
frequency of the class just preceding the modal class.
d2 = f0 – f 1 = The difference between the frequency of the modal class and the
frequency of the class just succeeding (following) the modal class.
c = Common width of the classes.
If d1 = d2 then mode will lie exactly mid-way between upper and lower
boundary of the modal class.
The formula is based on the assumption that the
distances of mode from the two boundaries of modal
class are proportional to the differences in
frequencies of the modal class and its two adjoining
classes i.e. d1 and d2.

M0 – I1 d1
----------------------- = --------------
I2 -M0 d2

Where
I1 = Lower class boundary of the modal class.
I2 = Upper class boundary of the modal class.
A distribution having only one mode is called unimodal.If it
contains more than one mode, it is called bimodal or multimodal.
If however the frequency distribution has classes of unequal width
or it contains more than one mode, the above formula can not be
applied.
In this case, an approximate value of mode is usually obtained by
the following approximate formula based upon the relationship
between mean, median and mode when the value of mean and
median are known or mode is obviously eliminated as a measure of
central tendency.

Mean – Mode = 3 (Mean – Median)

or
Mode = 3 Median - 2 Mean
 Illustration 1:-
The following data relate to the sales of 100
companies
Sales (Rs.lakhs) Number of companies
Below 60 12
60 - 62 18
62 – 64 25
64 – 66 30
66 – 68 10
68 – 70 3
70 - 72 2
 d1
Mode = I1 + -------------- x c
d1 + d2

Here,
I1 = 64
d1 = f0 – f -1 = 30 – 25 = 5
d2 = f0 – f 1 = 30 – 10 = 20
c=2
5
Mode = 64 + -------------- x 2
5 + 20

= 64 + (10/25)

= 64.4 (Ans)
 Locating Mode graphically

The monthly profits in rupees of 100 shops are distributed as follows,

Profits per shop0 - 100 100 - 200 200 - 300 300 - 400 400 - 500 500 - 600

Number of 12 18 27 20 17 6
shops

Draw the histogram to the data and hence find the modal
value graphically. Check this value by direct calculation.
 In a frequency distribution the value of mode can also be determined
graphically. The steps are:-

1) Draw a histogram of the given data.

2) In the histogram ,the top right corner of the highest rectangle is
joined by a straight line to the top right corner of the preceding
rectangale.Similarly, the top left corner of the highest rectangle is
joined by a straight line to the top left corner of the following
rectangle.
3) From the point of intersection of these two lines a perpendicular is
drawn on the horizontal axis. The foot of the perpendicular indicate
the Mode.
From the above diagram , the modal value is found to be Rs.256
approximately.
Mode can also be determined from frequency polygon in which case
perpendicular is brawn on the base from the apex of the polygon
and the point where it meets the base gives the modal value.
 or
We may calculate the mode directly. by simply applying the
formula i.e.
d1
Mode = I1 + -------------- x c
d1 + d2
Here,
I1 = 200
d1 = f0 – f -1 = 27 – 18 = 9
d2 = f0 – f 1 = 27 – 20 = 7
c = 100
9
Mode = 200 + -------------- x 100 = 256.25 (Ans)
9 +7
 Advantages
1) From a simple frequency distribution, mode can be obtained only by
inspection. Also, for a simple series with a small umber of
observations, mode can often be determined without any calculation.
2) Mode is unaffected by the presence of extreme value.
3) Unlike A.M. ,it can be calculated from frequency distribution, with
open end classes.
4) Mode can be easily used to describe qualitative phenomenon. For
example:-when we want to compare the consumer preference for
different types of products, say, soap. toothpastes,etc.we should
compare the modal preferences. In such distributions where there is
an outstanding large frequency, mode happens to be meaningful as an
average.
 Disadvantages
1) Mode has no significance unless a large number of observations is
available.
2) It is particular measure of central tendency. For any given set of
observations, it is always possible to find the values of
A.M.,G.M.,H.M., or Median. But mode may not exist. When all
values occur with equal frequency, there is no mode. On the other
hand if two or more values have the same maximum frequency,
there is more than one mode. For example:-
c) Mode of observations 2,5,8,4,3,4,5,2,4 is 4.
d) For the observations 5,3,6,3,5,6, there is no mode.
e) For the observations 5,3,6,3,5,10,7,2, there are two modes i.e. 3 and
5.
3) From the grouped frequency distribution, it is difficult
to locate the mode accurately. An approximate value of
the mode is obtained by the formula .But if the
frequency distribution has classes of unequal width or it
contains more than one mode, the above formula can not
be applied.
4) Mode can not be treated algebraically.