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Section 16.2 · Statistics and probability

The mean

Calculate the mean of a data set, find it from a frequency table, and use it to work backwards to a total or a missing value.

6 teaching slides 64 practice questions Worked answers for every question

1 · Teaching slidesuse ← → keys

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2 · Key words

meanThe total divided by how many values there are.
totalEverything added together.
frequencyHow many times a value occurs.
averageA single value that stands for a whole set.
perFor each — as in goals per game.

3 · Summary of the sectionrevise from this

  • Mean = total ÷ how many.
  • It shares the total out equally: what everyone would have if they all had the same.
  • Rearranged: total = mean × how many. That step unlocks most mean problems.
  • The mean need not be one of the values — 1.6 pets is a perfectly good mean.
  • It must lie between the smallest and the largest value.
  • From a frequency table: multiply each value by its frequency, add those, then divide by the total frequency.
  • To find a missing value: work out the total the mean demands, then subtract what you already have.
  • The mean uses every value, so one extreme reading moves it a long way.
  • That sensitivity is its weakness, and the subject of the next section.
PDFPrintable worksheet All 64 questions, space to work PDFWorked answers Full solutions, not just the answer

Video lessons1 videos

The Mean

British corbettmaths

Total divided by how many, and working backwards to a missing value.

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4 · Practice64 questions, easiest first

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16.1 Mode, median and range
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16.3 Choosing the right average