Mean, median, mode and other statistical functions
This is a problem set. Some of these are easy, others are far more difficult. The purpose of these problems sets are to HELP YOU THINK THROUGH problems. The solution is at the bottom of this page, but please don't look at it until you have tried (and failed) at least three or four times.
The Problem[edit]
Please program the following functions:
- Mean For a data set, the terms arithmetic mean, mathematical expectation, and sometimes average are used synonymously to refer to a central value of a discrete set of numbers: specifically, the sum of the values divided by the number of values.[2]
- Mode The mode is the value that appears most often in a set of data. [3]
- Median In statistics and probability theory, a median is the number separating the higher half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to highest value and picking the middle one (e.g., the median of {3, 3, 5, 9, 11} is 5). If there is an even number of observations, then there is no single middle value; the median is then usually defined to be the mean of the two middle values[4]
Some Code to Get You Started[edit]
# this is a math problem-set
score_of_people_who_like_homemade_sushi=[2,3,3,2,3,2,3,9,2,3,4,8,1,2,8,7,6,5,8,9,1,2,3,2,1,4,3,2,1,4,5,4,1,6,9,6,1,4,2,3]
def mean(list):
return mean
def mode(list):
return mode
def median(list):
return median
Take This Further[edit]
This simple program is an example of an abstraction. We take a real-world problem (getting a table at a popular restaurant) and abstract into something we can computationally solve. I'm not sure "how you are dressed" should be the only criteria that would determine if you got a table. For extra marks, please include other criteria that would determine if you could find a table.
How you will be assessed[edit]
Every problem set is a formative assignment. Please click here to see how you will be graded
References[edit]
One Possible Solution[edit]
Click the expand link to see one possible solution, but NOT before you have tried and failed!
Not yet :-)