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The Mode

The mode of a set of numbers is the number which occurs most often.

In a set of data, there can be more than one mode. A set with two modes is bi-modal, a set with three modes is tri-modal, etc. There can also be a data set with no mode.

Example 1:

Find the mode of the set ${4, 5, 7, 7, 9, 11, 11, 11, 12, 14}$

In the data set, the numbers $4, 5, 9, 12$ and $14$ each occur once.

The number $7$ occurs twice and $11$ occurs three times.

So, the mode of the data set is $11$ .

Example 2:

Find the mode of the set ${14, 19, 22, 22, 26, 27, 29, 33, 44, 55, 55}$

In the data set, the numbers $14, 19, 26, 27, 29, 33$ and $44$ each occur once.

The numbers $22$ and $55$ occurs twice.

In this case, the data set has two modes, so it is bi-modal.

The modes are $22$ and $55$ .

The mode can be used as a measure of central tendency of a data set.