Final answer:
The most common measure of central tendency for determining the average is the mean, which is calculated by summing the values in a data set and dividing by the number of values.
Step-by-step explanation:
The measure of central tendency that is the most common way of determining the average is the mean. The mean, also known as the arithmetic average, is calculated by adding up all numbers in a data set and dividing by the total number of values. For example, to calculate the mean of a data set with 50 weights, you would sum up all the weights and divide by 50. The mean is particularly helpful for analyzing data and is used frequently in mathematics and statistics. However, it is sensitive to outliers, which can skew the result, in which case the median might be a better measure of central tendency.