The mode is the data value or category occurring most often, found by counting frequencies in a list, frequency table, line plot, or bar graph; a data set may have one mode, more than one mode tied for greatest frequency, or no mode when no value occurs more often than another. This understanding distinguishes frequency from numerical size and supports comparing and interpreting data sets, without extending to continuous-distribution or inferential treatments of mode.
The mode is the data value or category that occurs most often.
To find the mode:
Example: Find the mode of this data set:
Count each value:
| Value | Frequency |
|---|---|
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 1 |
| 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 1 |
The greatest frequency is . The value that occurs times is .
Remember, the mode is based on how often a value appears, not on which value is largest.
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