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4.1e: Averages - mode
Mode is the average or value that occurs most often.
An easy way to remember the mode is that mode starts with an M and O
just as most and often.
It is possible to have several modes or no mode.
In example 1, we are given a list of values.
This list of values does not happen to be in order
but since we are only looking at the mode, it does not matter.
We must identify if any number occurs more than one time.
As we look through the list, we find that 8 occurs twice.
There are no other numbers that occur twice.
In this case, we therefore find that the mode is 8.
If we had a list in which no numbers occurred twice,
we therefore would say there was no mode.
In example 2, we once again are looking for the mode.
We must identify if any numbers are listed more than once.
We see that the number 23 is listed more than once.
We look through the list and we may find another number
that is listed more than once.
We found the number 26 is listed twice also.
Since both numbers are listed twice
and there is no number that is listed three times,
the most often occurrence is two times
which means that the mode is 23 and 26.
Have there been one more 23 or one more 26,
then that number would have been the mode
because it is only the number that occurs most often
and you only include more than one number as the mode
if it occurs the same number of times
as the other number such as the case in example 2
where 23 occurs twice and 26 occurs twice.
Since they both occurred two times
and nothing occurs three times,
there are two modes, both 23 and 26.