- Find the average value of a set of numbers
Average Value
To make sense of data, we often want to explore it and summarize it using different numerical measures, such as percentages or averages. To understand the typical number of times something happens, we can calculate the average or mean of the values. The average is calculated by adding the values and then dividing the total by the number of values in the data set.
mean (average)
To calculate the mean of a data set, add up all the values selected and divide by the number of values you totaled.
Formula: [latex]\text{Mean or Average}=\dfrac{\text{Sum of the values in the sample}}{\text{The number of sample values}}[/latex]
Example: Find the mean of these weights collected from a sample of baby turtles.
[latex]3, 3, 7, 4, 3, 4[/latex] (grams)
Add the values: [latex]3+3+7+4+3+4=24[/latex]
Divide by the [latex]6[/latex] values we totaled
[latex]\dfrac{24}{6}=4[/latex]
The average weight of the baby turtles is [latex]4[/latex] grams.