Question

Coffee is a leading export from several developing countries. When coffee prices are high, farmers often clear forest to plant more coffee trees. Here are five years' data on prices paid to coffee growers in Indonesia and the percent of forest area lost in a national park that lies in a coffee producing region:

Price (cents per pound) 29 40 54 55 72
Forest lost (percent) 2.43 2.01 0.09 2.97 3.67

What is the mean?

Answer 1

The mean of the data sets are

For price, x, mean,
`\bar {x}` is 50

For percentage of forest lost , y, mean,
`\bar {y}` is 2.234

Explanation:

Here, we have the amount paid to the farmers per pound of coffee

29, 40, 54, 55, 72

Therefore since the mean is given by

`Mean, \mu \, or \, \bar {x} = (Sum \, of \, terms)/(Number \, of \, Terms)`

∑X = 29 + 40 + 54 + 55 + 72 =250

The number of terms = 5

Therefore, the mean is 250/5 = 50

`\bar {x}` = 50

Also for the lost percent of the forest, we have;

∑Y = 2.43 + 2.01 + 0.09 + 2.97 + 3.67 = 11.17

∑Y/n = 11.17/5 = 2.234

`\bar {y}` = 2.234.

Answer 2

50 cents per pound and 2.23 %

Explanation:

The mean is obtained as follows: sum all the values and then divide it by the number of elements in the sum.

The mean of the price variable is:

(29 + 40 + 54 + 55 + 72)/5 = 50 cents per pound

The mean of forest lost variable is:

(2.43 + 2.01 + 0.09 + 2.97 + 3.67)/5 = 2.23 %