Question

The low temperatures last week, in degrees Fahrenheit, were 30, 35, 40, 41, 42, 45, and 47.

What is the average of the low temperatures?

Answer 1

40

Explanation:

The average of a data set is the number "in the middle" of all of the numbers. This is a measurement of the center of a data set. Another word for average is mean.

How to Calculate the Average

The average or mean is calculated by adding all of the values together. Then, divide this sum by the number of data points. For example, if the sum of 5 different data points is 10, then the average would be 10/5.

Finding the Average

Now, let's find the average of this specific data set. First, add all of the data together.

• 30+35+40+41+42+45+47 = 280

Then, count the number of terms. There are 7 different terms within this data set. So, next divide the sum by the number of terms.

• 280/7 = 40

This means that the average of the set is 40.

Other Measurements of Center

The mean is not the only measurement of center. There are 3 common measures of center.

• The mean is found by adding all the terms and then dividing by the number of terms.
• Another measurement is the median is found by ordering the terms from least to greatest, and then taking whatever number is left in the middle. The median of this set is 41.
• Finally, the mode is the term that appears the most often. Many times there can be more than one mode. This set has no real mode because all of the terms only appear once.