Which term represents the mathematical average of the data set?

Which term represents the mathematical average of the data set?

• A. Mean
• B. Median
• C. Mode
• D. Control Range

Answer: (A)

In data analysis, the mathematical average is found by adding all the values and dividing by how many values there are. That result is called the mean. The mean tells you the balance point of the data—the point where the dataset would balance if each value were a weight. The other terms describe different ideas: the median is the middle value when you line up the data in order; the mode is the value that occurs most often; the range (often called the spread from smallest to largest) shows how wide the data spread is. Example: for the numbers 1, 2, 2, 3, 10, the mean is (1+2+2+3+10)/5 = 18/5 = 3.6. The median is 2, the mode is 2, and the range is 10−1 = 9.

In data analysis, the mathematical average is found by adding all the values and dividing by how many values there are. That result is called the mean.

The mean tells you the balance point of the data—the point where the dataset would balance if each value were a weight. The other terms describe different ideas: the median is the middle value when you line up the data in order; the mode is the value that occurs most often; the range (often called the spread from smallest to largest) shows how wide the data spread is.

Example: for the numbers 1, 2, 2, 3, 10, the mean is (1+2+2+3+10)/5 = 18/5 = 3.6. The median is 2, the mode is 2, and the range is 10−1 = 9.