To find the mode of a data set, follow these steps:

1. Arrange the numbers in order (from lowest to highest). This step is not strictly necessary but helps to count occurrences more easily.
2. Count how many times each number appears in the data set.
3. Identify the number(s) that appear most frequently. The number(s) with the highest frequency is the mode.

• If one number appears most often, that number is the mode.
• If multiple numbers appear with the same highest frequency, the data set is multimodal (e.g., bimodal if two modes).
• If no number repeats, the data set has no mode.

Example:

For the data set: 3, 7, 5, 13, 20, 23, 39, 23, 40, 23, 14, 12, 56, 23, 29
Ordered: 3, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 20, 23, 23, 23, 23 , 29, 39, 40, 56
The mode is 23 because it appears most often

. This method can be done manually, with a calculator, or using spreadsheet software like Excel. In Excel, you can use the MODE function to find the mode automatically

. Remember the mnemonic: mode = most (the number that occurs the most)