Question

Which of the following statements is not applicable to the mode of a dataset?

• A. There can be more than one mode for a particular dataset.
• B. It is affected by extreme values in the dataset.
• C. It represents the most frequently occurring value of the dataset.
• D. It is calculated by inspection method and grouping method.

Hint:

Remember how different measures of central tendency react to outliers:

\textbf{Mean:} Very sensitive to outliers.
\textbf{Median:} Not sensitive to outliers (it only cares about the middle position).
\textbf{Mode:} Not sensitive to outliers (it only cares about frequency). \end{itemize}

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The mode is a measure of central tendency that represents the most frequently occurring value in a dataset. The question asks to identify a property that does NOT apply to the mode.

Step 2: Analyzing the statements:
- (A) There can be more than one mode for a particular dataset. This is true. A dataset can be bimodal (two modes), multimodal (more than two modes), or have no mode at all if all values occur with the same frequency.
- (B) It is affected by extreme values in the dataset. This is false. The mode is determined only by the frequency of values. Extreme values (outliers) do not affect the mode unless they happen to be the most frequent value. The mean is highly affected by extreme values, while the median is resistant.
- (C) It represents the most frequently occurring value of the dataset. This is true. This is the definition of the mode.
- (D) It is calculated by inspection method and grouping method. This is true. For simple, ungrouped data, the mode can be found by simple inspection. For grouped frequency distributions, more complex grouping methods or formulas are used to estimate the modal class.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The statement that is not applicable to the mode is that it is affected by extreme values. Therefore, option (B) is the correct answer.