In descriptive statistics, how is the mode defined?

The mode is defined as the number that appears most frequently in a dataset. This measure of central tendency identifies the value that occurs with the highest frequency, making it especially useful in various types of data analysis, including categorical data where mean and median may not provide meaningful insights.

For instance, if you have a dataset representing the number of students who received various grades in a class, the mode would highlight which grade was achieved by the majority of students. This can help inform educators about common performance levels and provide insights into the overall effectiveness of instructional strategies.

The other options represent different statistical measures but do not define the mode. The average, for example, refers to the mean, which is calculated by summing all observations and dividing by the total number of observations. The center number pertains to the median, which is the middle value when the data set is ordered from least to greatest. The difference between the highest and lowest number describes the range, which is a measure of dispersion rather than a central tendency measure.