The mode is the value or category occurring most frequently in a finite data set, identified by comparing frequencies in a list, frequency table, dot plot, or similar representation. A data set may have one mode, multiple modes tied for greatest frequency, or no mode when all frequencies are equal; the mode describes frequency, not the largest or smallest value. Grouped-data and more advanced distributional analyses are not included.
The mode is the value or category that appears most often in a data set. To find it:
Example: Find the mode of the data set:
Count each value:
| Value | Number of times it appears |
|---|---|
The greatest frequency is , and the value with a frequency of is .
Therefore, the mode is:
Remember, the mode is the value that occurs most often, not necessarily the greatest value.
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