Basic Statistics in Food Science

Basic Statistics in

Food Science

IN FOOD SCIENCE, WE WILL USE…

Mean
Median
Mode
Range
% Difference

& determine how we can

use these skills in
everyday life, including in

Food Science

Think about words you may

already know:
Average
Middle
Most Frequent
Difference

Average …………..

Middle ……………..

Most Frequent ….

Difference ………..

Mean

Median

Mode

Range

They are all the same ideas:

Multiple Choice

Definition of Mean

• is the average of a group of numbers

• is the middle value within a set of data

• is the difference between the highest and thelowest numbers of the series.

• refers to the number that occurs the most frequently.

• When you have multiple trials of an experiment, you will need to determine the % difference between trials

MEAN

is the average of a
group of numbers

It is helpful to know the mean to see which

numbers are above and below the mean

MEAN
EXAMPLE

Example test scores for a Food Science class:

82

93

86

97

82

To find the mean, first you must add up all of
the numbers.

82 + 93 + 86 + 97 + 82=

440

Now, since there are 5 test scores,
we will next divide the sum by 5.

440÷5= 88

MEAN is 88

Multiple Choice

Definition of median

• is the average of a group of numbers

• is the middle value within a set of data

• is the difference between the highest and thelowest numbers of the series.

• refers to the number that occurs the most frequently.

• When you have multiple trials of an experiment, you will need to determine the % difference between trials

MEDIAN

is the middle value
within a set of data

Always start by listing the numbers in order

MEDIAN
EXAMPLE

Example test scores for a Food Science class:

78

93

86 97 79

Put them in numerical order:

78 79 86 93 97

The median is the middle number:
78 79 86 93 97

MEDIAN is 86

MEDIAN
EXAMPLE #2

Now, let’s try it with an

even number of test scores.

92 86 94 83 72 88

First, put them in order

72 83 86 88 92 94

This time, there are two numbers in

the middle, 86 and 88

72 83 86 88 92 94

Now we will need to find the
AVERAGE (or mean) of these

two numbers:

86 + 88 = 174

and then 174/2 =

MEDIAN is 87

Multiple Choice

Definition of mode

• is the average of a group of numbers

• is the middle value within a set of data

• is the difference between the highest and thelowest numbers of the series.

• refers to the number that occurs the most frequently.

• When you have multiple trials of an experiment, you will need to determine the % difference between trials

MODE

refers to the number

that occurs the

most frequently

Easy way to remember: The first two letters are the same

MOde andMOst Frequent

MODE
EXAMPLE

Here is a list of weights for
½ c of flour:

77 g 79 g 83 g 77 g 83 g 77 g 82 g

Again, put them in order:

77 77 77 79 82 83 83

77 g is the most frequent number

MODE=77 g

Multiple Choice

Definition of range

• is the average of a group of numbers

• is the middle value within a set of data

• is the difference between the highest and thelowest numbers of the series.

• refers to the number that occurs the most frequently.

• When you have multiple trials of an experiment, you will need to determine the % difference between trials

RANGE

is the difference between
the highest and thelowest
numbers of the series.

All we have to do is put the numbers in order and

subtract the lowest from the highest

RANGE
EXAMPLE

Here is a list of weights for
½ c of flour:

77 g 79 g 83 g 77 g 83 g 77 g 82 g

Again, put them in order:

77 77 77 79 82 83 83

The highest number is 83, and the lowest is 77.

All you need to do is subtract!

83-77=

RANGE is6 g

Weight of Common Baking Ingredients

Flour

Cake Flour

Granulated

Sugar

Brown
Sugar

Powdered

Sugar

4.5 oz

3.7 oz

7.1 oz

7.5 oz

4.5 oz

Calculate the statistics of the oz ofStaple Ingredients

Flour

Cake Flour

Granulated

Sugar

Brown
Sugar

Powdered

Sugar

4.5 oz

3.7 oz

7.1 oz

7.5 oz

4.5 oz

Mean

Add the numbers together and divide by # of samples

Median

Put the numbers in order and find the middle #

Mode

Put the numbers in order and find the most frequent

Range

Put the numbers in order and subtract the lowest from
the highest

Math Response

What is the mean of the ingredients?

Type answer here

Correct Answer: 5.46

Deg^°

Rad

Math Response

What is the median of the ingredients?

Type answer here

Correct Answer: 4.5

Deg^°

Rad

Math Response

What is the mode of the ingredients?

Type answer here

Correct Answer: 4.5

Deg^°

Rad

Math Response

What is the range of the ingredients?

Type answer here

Correct Answer: 3.8

Deg^°

Rad

Calculate the statistics of the oz ofStaple Ingredients

Flour

Cake Flour

Granulated

Sugar

Brown
Sugar

Powdered

Sugar

4.5 oz

3.7 oz

7.1 oz

7.5 oz

4.5 oz

Mean Add the numbers together and divide by # of samples:

5.46 g

4.5 + 3.7 + 7.1 + 7.5 + 4.5 = 27.3

27.3 / 5 = ____

Calculate the statistics of the oz ofStaple Ingredients

Flour

Cake Flour

Granulated

Sugar

Brown
Sugar

Powdered

Sugar

4.5 oz

3.7 oz

7.1 oz

7.5 oz

4.5 oz

Median

Put the numbers in order and find the middle #:

4.5 g

3.7 4.5 4.5 7.1 7.5

Calculate the statistics of the oz ofStaple Ingredients

Flour

Cake Flour

Granulated

Sugar

Brown
Sugar

Powdered

Sugar

4.5 oz

3.7 oz

7.1 oz

7.5 oz

4.5 oz

Mode

Put the numbers in order and find the most frequent

4.5 g

3.7 4.5 4.5 7.1 7.5

Calculate the statistics of the oz ofStaple Ingredients

Flour

Cake Flour

Granulated

Sugar

Brown
Sugar

Powdered

Sugar

4.5 oz

3.7 oz

7.1 oz

7.5 oz

4.5 oz

Range

Put the numbers in order and subtract the lowest
from the highest:

3.8 g

3.7 4.5 4.5 7.1 7.5

7.5 - 3.7 =

Multiple Choice

Definition of % difference

• is the average of a group of numbers

• is the middle value within a set of data

• is the difference between the highest and thelowest numbers of the series.

• refers to the number that occurs the most frequently.

• When you have multiple trials of an experiment, you will need to determine the % difference between trials

% Difference

When you have multiple trials

of an experiment, you will
need to determine the %
difference between trials

Experiments should be replicable that can be analyzed
percent difference and percent error respectively.

Calculated by: Rangex 100 = ___%

Mean

CALCULATING % Difference

RANGE X 100
MEAN

Range: 3.8
Mean: 5.46

x 100 = 69.597…
Round to nearest hundredth

% Difference = 69.60%

%
Difference