GRAVETTER_CH03_THE MODE

Question 1

What is the term for the score or category that has the greatest frequency (most frequently-occurring score) in a frequency distribution?

Answer 1

The mode.

Question 2

TRUE OR FALSE: There are no symbols or special notation used to identify the mode or to differentiate between a sample mode and a population mode.

Answer 2

TRUE.

Question 3

THINK! When is the mode useful?

Answer 3

It can be used to determine the typical or most frequent value for any scale of measurement, including a nominal scale.

Question 4

TRUE OR FALSE: The mode is the only measure of central tendency that corresponds to an actual score in the data.

Answer 4

TRUE

Question 5

TRUE OR FALSE: It is not possible to have more than one mode.

Answer 5

FALSE.

It is possible to have two or more scores that have the same highest frequency!

Question 6

What is the term for a distribution with two modes?

Answer 6

Bimodal.

Question 7

What is the term for a distribution with more than two modes?

Answer 7

Multimodal.

Occasionally, a distribution with several equally high points is said to have no mode.

Question 8

TRUE OR FALSE: The mode is technically the score with the absolute highest frequency, but the term mode is often used more casually to refer to scores with relatively high frequencies.

Answer 8

TRUE.

It can refer to scores that correspond to peaks in a distribution even though the peaks are not the absolute highest points.

Question 9

THINK! When the modes have unequal frequencies, researches occasionally differentiate the two values by calling the taller peak the ___________ and the shorter one the ________.

Answer 9

major mode, minor mode