4.4 Shape of a Distribution
Summary statistics describe the center of the distribution of a numerical variable (mean, median) and its variation (standard deviation, IQR). Additional statistics describe other features of the distribution, collectively known as the shape of a distribution.
Modes
Most data produce a histogram with a single, rounded peak. This peak identifies where the data cluster. The location of this peak is the mode of a numerical variable. The bar at the center of the peak in the histogram in Figure 4.4 shows that the mode of these data lies between 3 and 4 MB. The data become sparser as you move away from a mode, and so the heights of adjacent bars in the histogram steadily decline.
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