Abstract
The mathematical analysis of bimodal distributions is very complex. Karl Pearson (1894) investigated the problem and developed equations for the purpose; but found them unsolvable as the ‘majority [of the relations] lead to exponential equations the solution of which seems more beyond the wit of man than that of a numerical equation even of the ninth order’. He did indeed evolve an equation of this order and used it to analyse a few bimodal distributions, but the arithmetic involved was very laborious. Later he (Pearson, 1914) gives a table for ‘Constants of normal curve from moments of tail about stump ’which, as he describes in the introduction, occasionally permits a rough analysis of a distribution which is known to be bimodal. This method is much more rapid than the solution of the nonic equation, but ‘owing to the paucity of material in tails and corresponding irregularity there will be large probable errors’. Gottschalk (1948) discusses the question and shows that inthe special case where the bimodal distribution is symmetrical comparatively simple solutions can be found.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
