Meaning & use
bimodal distribution
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Meaning
nouncountabletechnical
A pattern of data with two clearly separate most common values, so a graph of it shows two peaks.
Grammar: Countable: one bimodal distribution, two bimodal distributions.
Patterns
- a bimodal distribution of something
The test scores formed a bimodal distribution, with one group scoring low and another scoring high.
A bimodal distribution often means two different groups are mixed in one dataset.
The histogram of arrival times showed a bimodal distribution with peaks at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Word forms
| plural | bimodal distributions |
|---|
Common combinations
- show a bimodal distribution
- The heights in the sample show a bimodal distribution.
- a clearly bimodal distribution
- It was a clearly bimodal distribution with a deep valley between peaks.
- plot a bimodal distribution
- We plotted a bimodal distribution of commute times.
- mean of a bimodal distribution
- The mean of a bimodal distribution can be misleading.
- unimodal and bimodal distributions
- The lesson compared unimodal and bimodal distributions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- two-peaked distribution
- This is a plain-language version of the same idea, whereas bimodal distribution is the standard technical term.
- multimodal distribution
- A multimodal distribution has two or more peaks, so it is broader than bimodal.
Opposites
Word family
- bimodal adjective
- having two modes or peaks
- mode noun
- the most frequent value in a dataset
- unimodal adjective
- having one peak
- distribution noun
- how values are spread across a range
Commonly confused: bimodal distribution or normal distribution?
bimodal distribution vs normal distribution
A normal distribution has a single bell-shaped peak, while a bimodal distribution has two peaks.
Practice
A histogram of student heights shows two clear peaks, one for each of two age groups. This is best described as a ___.
Choose one answer.
Two peaks mean bimodal. A normal distribution has only one peak, and a uniform distribution is flat.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bimodal distribution”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.