What is the mean of the following set of data values?
487.2, 674.2, 23.3, 341.1, 56.8.
Give your answer as a decimal number correct to two decimal places.
Answer (1)
Add all the data values: 487.2 + 674.2 + 23.3 + 341.1 + 56.8 = 1582.6 .
Divide the sum by the number of values (5): 5 1582.6 = 316.52 .
Round the result to two decimal places (already done).
The mean of the data values is 316.52 .
Explanation
Understanding the problem We are asked to find the mean of the given set of data values and round the answer to two decimal places. The data values are 487.2, 674.2, 23.3, 341.1, and 56.8.
Calculating the mean To find the mean, we need to add up all the data values and then divide by the number of values in the set, which is 5. So, we have: M e an = 5 487.2 + 674.2 + 23.3 + 341.1 + 56.8
Performing the division First, let's calculate the sum of the data values: 487.2 + 674.2 + 23.3 + 341.1 + 56.8 = 1582.6 Now, we divide the sum by 5 to find the mean: M e an = 5 1582.6 = 316.52
Final Answer The mean is 316.52. Since we are asked to round the answer to two decimal places, and our answer is already in two decimal places, we don't need to do any further rounding.
Examples
The concept of the mean is widely used in everyday life. For example, if you want to know your average grade in a class, you would calculate the mean of all your test scores. Similarly, if you want to know the average rainfall in a month, you would calculate the mean of the daily rainfall amounts. This simple calculation helps us understand and summarize data in a meaningful way.
