Finding the Mean
- Due Oct 24 at 11:59pm
- Points 4
- Questions 4
- Available after Oct 10 at 12am
- Time Limit None
- Allowed Attempts 5
Instructions
When you collect data for science class, you are often asked to find the average. Another word for average is the "mean". The mean is found by adding all the sample values together, and then dividing by the # of samples. It is a measure of central tendency, providing a single value that represents the average of the dataset. Here is an example:
Danny wants to know how many days students play video games on average. An average gives us a single number for comparison, and helps us understand trends or patterns. For instance if you play video games for 20 hours per week, is this what most students do? Would you be above or below the average? What if you could compare the average number of hours watched by students that have "A"'s to students that have "F"s? Would this help you make choices about how YOU use your time?
Danny surveys 8 students in his classroom who have a grade of an A or an F, asking them how many hours of video games they play per week. Here are the results:
| Data Type | Sally | Michael | Desmond | Ben | Arron | Aiden | Hannah | Joey |
| Hours | 0 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 22 | 5 |
| Grade | A | A | F | A | A | F | F | A |