Answer:
if the 5 numbers are different, the maximum difference is 64
Explanation:
We have 5 positive (different) integers, a, b, c, d and e (suppose that are ordered from least to largest, so a is the smallest and b is the largest.
The mean will be:
M = (a + b + c + d + e)/5 = 15.
Now, if we want to find the largest difference between a and e, then we must first select the first 4 numbers as the smallest numbers possible, this is:
a = 1, b = 2, c = 3 and d = 4
M = (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + d)/5 = 15
M = (10 + d)/5 = 15
10 + d = 15*5 = 75
d = 75 - 10 = 65
then the difference between a and d is = 65 - 1 = 64.
Now, if we take any of the first 4 numbers a little bit bigger, then we will see that the value of d must be smaller, and the difference between d and a will be smaller.