INTRODUCTION

In this module, you will study about the measures of position. Remember to look for the
answers to the following questions:
1. How would I know my position given the academic rank?
2. What are the ways to determine the measure of position in a set of data?

We shall discuss data analysis by dividing it into four, ten, and hundred parts of equal sizes
and the corresponding partition values are called quartiles, deciles, and percentiles. All these
values can be determined in the same way as the median. The only difference is in their location.
Quantiles can be applied when:
1. dealing with large amount of data, which includes the timely results for standardized tests
in schools, etc.;
2. trying to discover the smallest as well as the largest values in a given distribution; and
3. examining financial fields for academic as well as statistical studies.

Quantiles are very useful because they help the government to find how the income in a
country is distributed, how much of the total income is earned by low wage earning groups and by
high wage earning groups. (If both groups earn the same proportion of the income, then there is
income equality.
LESSONS AND COVERAGE
Lesson 1 – Measures of Position for Ungrouped Data
Lesson 2 – Measures of Position for Grouped Data

In this lesson, you will learn to:

Module Map
 Let us start our study of this module by first reviewing the concept of median, which is
one of the concepts needed in the study of this module. Discuss the answers to the questions
below with a partner.

The midpoint between two numbers x and y on the real number line is
𝑥+𝑦
2
 The Quartile for Ungrouped Data
The quartiles are the score points which divide a distribution into four equal parts.
Twenty-five percent (25%) of the distribution are below the first quartile, fifty percent (50%)
are below the second quartile, and seventy-five percent (75%) are below the third quartile. 𝑄1
is called the lower quartile and 𝑄3 is the upper quartile. 𝑄1 < 𝑄2 <𝑄3 , where 𝑄2 is nothing but
the median. The difference between 𝑄3 and 𝑄1 is the interquartile range.
Since the second quartile is equal to the median, the steps in the computation of median
by identifying the median class is the same as the steps in identifying the 𝑄1 class and the 𝑄3
class.

𝑄1 𝑄2 𝑄3
a. 25% of the data has a value ≤ 𝑄1
b. 50% of the data has a value ≤ 𝑋ത or 𝑄2
c. 75% of the has the value ≤ 𝑄3

Example
The owner of a coffee shop recorded the number of customers who came into his café each
hour in a day. The results were 14, 10, 12, 9, 17, 5, 8, 9, 14, 10, and 11. Find the lower quartile
and upper quartile of the data.

Solution:
 In ascending order, the data are
5, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 12, 14, 14, 17
 The least value in the data is 5 and the greatest value in the data is 17.
 The middle value in the data is 10.
 The lower quartile is the value that is between the middle value and the least value in the
data set.
 So, the lower quartile is 9.
 The upper quartile is the value that is between the middle value and the greatest value in
the data set.
 So, the upper quartile is 14.
 Mendenhall and Sincich Method. Using Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences,
define a different method of finding quartile values. To apply their method on a data set with n
elements, first calculate:
1
Lower Quartile (L) = Position of 𝑄1 = 4(n+1) and round to the nearest integer. If L falls halfway
between two integers, round up. The Lth element is the lower quartile value (Q1).

Next calculate:
3
Upper Quartile (U) =Position of 𝑄3 = 4(n+1) and round to the nearest integer. If U falls halfway
between two integers, round down. The Uth element is the upper quartile value (Q3).

Example
In the data set: {1, 3, 7, 7, 16, 21, 27, 30, and 31} and n = 9. Find the Q1 and Q3.
1
To find Q1, locate its position using the formula 4(n +1) and round off to the nearest integer.

1
Position of 𝑄1 = 4(n+1)
1
= (9 +1)
4
1
= 4(10)
= 2.5

The computed value 2.5 becomes 3 after rounding up. The lower quartile value (Q1) is the 3rd
data element, so Q1 = 7. Similarly:
3
Position of 𝑄3 = 4(n+1)
3
= 4(9+1)
3
= 4(10)
= 7.5

The computed value 7.5 becomes 7 after rounding down. The upper quartile value (Q3) is the 7th
data element, so Q3 = 27.

Using this method, the upper quartile (Q3) and lower quartile (Q1) values are always two
of the data elements.
 Find the quartiles using Linear Interpolation.

Example
Find the first quartile (Q1) and the third quartile (Q3), given the scores of 10 students in
their Mathematics activity:
1, 27, 16, 7, 31, 7, 30, 3, 21
Solution:

1. First, arrange the scores in ascending order.

1, 3, 7, 7, 16, 21, 27, 30, 31
2. Second, locate the position of the score in the distribution.
1
Position of 𝑄1 = 4(n+1)
1
= 4(9 +1)
1
= 4(10)
= 2.5

3. Third, interpolate the value to obtain the 1st quartile.

Steps of interpolation:
a. Subtract the 2nd data from the 3rd data.
7–3=4
b. Multiply the result by the decimal part obtained in the second step (Position of
Q1).
4(0.5) = 2
c. Add the result in step 2, to the 2nd or smaller number.
3+2=5
Therefore, the value of Q1 = 5.

Solution:
1. First, arrange the scores in ascending order.
1, 3, 7, 7, 16, 21, 27, 30, 31

2. Second, locate the position of the score in the distribution.

3
Position of 𝑄3 = 4(n+1)
3
= 4(9+1)
3
= 4(10)
= 7.5
Since the result is a decimal number, interpolation is needed.

3. Third, interpolate the value to obtain the 3rd quartile.

Steps of interpolation:
a. Subtract the 7th data from the 8th data.
30 – 27 = 3
b. Multiply the result by the decimal part obtained in the third step (Position of
Q3).
3(0.5) = 1.5
c. Add the result in step 2, (1.5), to the 7th or smaller number. 27 + 1.5 = 28.5
27 + 1.5 = 28.5

Therefore, the value of Q3 = 28.5

Note: As we can see, these methods sometimes (but not always) produce the same
results.

1. Aqua Running has been promoted as a method for cardiovascular conditioning for the
injured athlete as well as for others who desire a low impact aerobic workout. A study
reported in the Journal of Sports Medicine investigated the relationship between
exercise cadence and heart rate by measuring the heart rates of 20 healthy volunteers
at a cadence of 48 cycles per minute (a cycle consisted of two steps). The data are listed
here: 87, 109, 79, 80, 96, 95, 90, 92, 96, 98, 101, 91, 78, 112, 94, 98, 94, 107, 81, 96
Find the lower and upper quartiles of the data.
2. Find the first quartile (Q1), second quartile (Q2), and the third quartile (Q3), given the
scores of 10 students in their Mathematics activity using Linear Interpolation.
4, 9, 7, 14, 10, 8, 12, 15, 6, 11
 The Decile for Ungrouped Data
The deciles are the nine score points which divide a distribution into ten equal parts.
They are deciles and are denoted as D1, D2, D3,…, D9. They are computed in the same way
that the quartiles are calculated.

𝐷1 𝐷2 𝐷3 𝐷4 𝐷5 𝐷6 𝐷7 𝐷8 𝐷9

Example 1.
Find the 3rd decile or D3 of the following test scores of a random sample of ten students:
35, 42, 40, 28, 15, 23, 33, 20, 18 and 28.
Solution:
First, arrange the scores in ascending order.
15, 18, 20, 23, 28, 28, 33, 35, 40, 42

Steps to find decile value on a data with n elements:

𝑘
To find its D3 position, use the formula 𝐷𝑘 = 10(n+1) and round off to the nearest integer.
𝑘
Position of 𝐷𝑘 = 10(n+1)
3
= 10(10+1)
3
= 10(11
33
= 10
= 3.3

D3 is the 3rd element. Therefore, D3 = 20.

Example 2.

Anthony is a secretary in one big company in Metro Manila. His salary is in the 7th decile.
Should Anthony be glad about his salary or not? Explain your answer.

Solution:
70% of the employees receive a salary that is less than or equal to his salary and 30% of
the employees receive a salary that is greater than his salary. Anthony should be pleased with his
salary.
1. Mrs. Labonete gave a test to her students in Statistics. The students finished their test
in 35 minutes. This time is the 2.5th decile of the allotted time. What does this mean?
2. Mrs. Marasigan is a veterinarian. One morning, she asked her secretary to record the
service time for 15 customers. The following are service times in minutes. 20, 35, 55,
28, 46, 32, 25, 56, 55, 28, 37, 60, 47, 52, 17 Find the value of the 2nd decile, 6th decile,
and 8th decile
 The Percentile for Ungrouped Data
The percentiles are the ninety-nine score points which divide a distribution into one
hundred equal parts, so that each part represents the data set. It is used to characterize values
according to the percentage below them. For example, the first percentile (P1) separates the
lowest 1% from the other 99%, the second percentile (P2) separates the lowest 2% from
theother 98%, and so on.

𝑄1 𝑄2 𝑄3
𝑃25 𝑃50 𝑃75

𝐷1 𝐷2 𝐷3 𝐷4 𝐷5 𝐷6 𝐷7 𝐷8 𝐷9
𝑃10 𝑃20 𝑃30 𝑃40 𝑃50 𝑃60 𝑃70 𝑃80 𝑃90
The percentiles determine the value for 1%, 2%,…, and 99% of the data. P30 or 30th percentile
of the data means 30% of the data have values less than or equal to P30.
The 1st decile is the 10th percentile (P10). It means 10% of the data is less than or equal to the
value of P10 or D1, and so on.

Example
Find the 30th percentile or P30 of the following test scores of a random sample of ten
students: 35, 42, 40, 28, 15, 23, 33, 20, 18, and 28.

Solution:
Arrange the scores from the lowest to the highest.
15 18 20 23 28 28 33 35 40 42
Steps to find percentile value on a data with n elements: To find its P30 position use the
𝑘
formula 𝑃𝑘 = 100(n+1) and round off to the nearest integer.

𝑘
Position of 𝑃𝑘 = 100(n+1)
30
𝑃30 = 100(10+1)
30
𝑃30 = 100(11)
330
𝑃30 = 100
𝑃30 = 3.3
P30 is the 3rd element. Therefore, P30 = 20.

1. Given a test in Calculus, the 75th percentile score is 15. What does it mean? What
is its measure of position in relation to the other data? Interpret the result and
justify.
2. The scores of Miss World candidates from seven judges were recorded as follows:
8.45, 9.20, 8.56, 9.13, 8.67, 8.85, and 9.17.
 Find the 60th percentile or P60 of the judges’ scores.
 What is the P35 of the judges’ scores?
 Complete the Cross Quantile Puzzle by finding the specified measures of position. Use
linear interpolation. (In filling the boxes, disregard the decimal point. For example, 14.3 should be
written as 1 4 3

Given: Scores 5, 7, 12, 14, 15, 22, 25, 30, 36, 42, 53, 65

This section of the module will test your understanding of the different measures of
position by applying it to real-life situations. To demonstrate and apply your knowledge, you
will be given a practical task specifically in the field of business and social sciences.

Write each step in finding the position / location in the given set of data using the cloud
below. Add or delete clouds, if necessary.
 SUMMARY

This lesson was about measures of position for ungrouped data. The lesson provided
you with opportunities to illustrate and compute for quartiles, deciles, and percentiles of
ungrouped data. You were also given the opportunity to formulate and solve real-life problems
involving measures of position.

You have learned the following:

Quartile for ungrouped data:

𝑘
Position of 𝑄𝑘 = 4(n+1)

Decile for ungrouped data:

𝑘
Position of 𝐷𝑘 = 10(n+1)

Percentile for ungrouped data:

𝑘
Position of 𝑃𝑘 = 100(n+1)