The centre of a frequency distribution is measured by the mean, median and mode. What is this concept called?

• A. Variance
• B. Skewness
• C. Kurtosis
• D. Central tendency

Answer: (D)

Central tendency refers to a single value that best represents the center of a data set. The mean, median, and mode are three ways to describe that center: the mean is the arithmetic average, the median is the middle value when the data are ordered, and the mode is the most frequently occurring value. When a distribution is symmetric, these measures tend to align; when it’s skewed, they differ, giving a sense of both the center and the distribution’s shape. Other concepts like variance describe dispersion, while skewness and kurtosis describe shape, not the center. So the term that captures the idea of the center of the distribution is central tendency.