Questions about the world of GMAT Math from other sources and general math related questions.
yo4561
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Mode definition?

by yo4561 Sun Jul 18, 2021 12:54 pm

Hi MP,

In navigator, MP explained the mode as: "A number is a mode if it appears at least as many times as any other number in the list." I am confused. I thought the mode is the number that appears most frequently.

Thanks!
esledge
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Re: Mode definition?

by esledge Mon Jul 19, 2021 2:04 pm

I think it's similar to how the median is the number that is "in the middle" of the list, but the median can be equal to other list items. For example, in the set {1, 3, 3, 4, 5}, the median is 3 because 3 is less than two terms and 3 is greater than or equal to two terms.

Likewise, in the set {1, 3, 3, 4, 4}, there are two modes (3 and 4) because they are tied for "most frequent" term.
Emily Sledge
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ManhattanGMAT