Question

Each of 5 students reported the number of movies they saw in the past year. Here is what they reported.

15, 16, 11, 10, 8
Find the mean number of movies that the students saw.
If necessary, round your answer to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

Mean = 12 movies

Skills needed: Determining the Average

Explanation:

1) We need to first understand what the mean is. It is a very important math vocab word that is used frequently.

- The mean is the average of a set of terms.

The formula for average is:
`(S_n)/(n)`

`S_n` is the sum of all terms

`n` is the number of terms

- The average is used widely as a good statistic for a set of data.

2) In this scenario, we are given 5 terms/numbers, and we need to find the sum below:

`15+16+11+10+8= \\ 15 + 16 = 31 \text{ and } 11 + 10 = 21 \\ 31 + 21 + 8 \\ 52 + 8 \\ 60`

60 is the sum.

The number of terms is 5.

The average (MEAN) would be:
`\frac{60}5 = 12`

Answer 2

Add all terms then divide by number of terms (5).
15+16+11+10+8= 60
60/5= 12

Mean = 12