Mode
The mode is the number, or item, which occurs most often in a set of dataValues, typically letters or numbers..
To find the mode, find the value that occurs most.
Example
7 babies are weighed and 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 modal weight is 3.5 kg.
Advantages and disadvantages of averages
| Average | Advantage | Disadvantage |
| Mean | The mean takes account of all values to calculate the average. | Very small or very large values can affect the mean. |
| Median | The median is not affected by very large or very small values. | If there is an even number of numbers, the median is found by averaging the two middle numbers. This means the median value may not actually be a number in the original data set. |
| Mode | The mode is the only average that can be used if the data set is not in numbers, for instance the colours of cars in a car park. | 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 values to calculate the average. |
| 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 | If there is an even number of numbers, the median is found by averaging the two middle numbers. This means the median value may not actually be a number in the original data set. |
| Average | Mode |
|---|---|
| Advantage | The mode is the only average that can be used if the data set is not in numbers, for instance the colours of cars in a car park. |
| 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. |