Mode
The mode is the value which appears most often.
Example
7 babies weigh the following amounts:
2.5 kg, 3.1 kg, 3.4 kg, 3.5 kg, 3.5 kg, 4 kg, 4.1 kg
There is only one value that occurs twice, which is 3.5 kg. All other items occur only once.
2.5 kg, 3.1 kg, 3.4 kg, 3.5 kg, 3.5 kg, 4 kg, 4.1 kg
The mode is 3.5 kg. This may also be stated as the 鈥榤odal weight鈥 is 3.5 kg.
Advantages and disadvantages of averages
| Average | Advantage | Disadvantage |
| Mean | The mean takes account of all the items of data. | Very small or very large values can affect the mean. |
| Median | The median is not affected by very large or very small values. | The median can be time-consuming to find when there is a lot of data. |
| Mode | It is certain to have a value equal to at least one of the items of data. | There can be more than one mode, and there can also be no mode which means the mode is not always representative of the data. |
| Average | Mean |
|---|---|
| Advantage | The mean takes account of all the items of data. |
| Disadvantage | Very small or very large values can affect the mean. |
| Average | Median |
|---|---|
| Advantage | The median is not affected by very large or very small values. |
| Disadvantage | The median can be time-consuming to find when there is a lot of data. |
| Average | Mode |
|---|---|
| Advantage | It is certain to have a value equal to at least one of the items of data. |
| Disadvantage | There can be more than one mode, and there can also be no mode which means the mode is not always representative of the data. |