Mode (mathematics).

Mode (mathematics). Mode (mathematics), the number in a given set of numbers that appears most frequently. In the set {3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 10, 13}, for example, the mode of the set is 10. If two or more numbers are tied for most frequent appearances the set has multiple modes. The modes of the set {1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5}, for example, are 1, 2, and 4. Other sets, such as {5, 7, 9, 11}, have no modes because all the numbers occur with equal frequency. The mode provides a way to summarize a set of numbers without examining all of the numbers in the set. Knowing that the mode of a class's scores on an algebra test was 100 percent, for example, suggests that the test may have been too easy, since a perfect score was the most common result. See also Mean, Median. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.