Difference between revisions of "Average"
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'''Average''' is a term in mathematics used to measure the 'central tendency' or 'expected value' of a data set; in conversational terms, it would be expected to be a value somewhere in the middle of the data. | '''Average''' is a term in mathematics used to measure the 'central tendency' or 'expected value' of a data set; in conversational terms, it would be expected to be a value somewhere in the middle of the data. | ||
| − | There are various [[descriptive statistics]] that can be chosen as a measurement of the this central tendency, such as the [[mode]], the [[median]] and the [[mean]], this latter coming in a variety of forms: [[harmonic mean]], [[geometric mean]] and '''arithmetic mean'''. The '''arithmetic mean''' is the most common type of mean, and it is the one that most people would generally take as the '''average''. | + | There are various [[descriptive statistics]] that can be chosen as a measurement of the this central tendency, such as the [[mode]], the [[median]] and the [[mean]], this latter coming in a variety of forms: [[harmonic mean]], [[geometric mean]] and '''arithmetic mean'''. The '''arithmetic mean''' is the most common type of mean, and it is the one that most people would generally take as the '''average'''. |
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Thus one way of defining the '''average''' would be: | Thus one way of defining the '''average''' would be: | ||
* the sum of a group of numbers divided by the number of numbers it the group. | * the sum of a group of numbers divided by the number of numbers it the group. | ||
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Please see the table of mathematical symbols for explanations of the symbols used. | Please see the table of mathematical symbols for explanations of the symbols used. | ||
Revision as of 13:28, May 11, 2007
Average is a term in mathematics used to measure the 'central tendency' or 'expected value' of a data set; in conversational terms, it would be expected to be a value somewhere in the middle of the data.
There are various descriptive statistics that can be chosen as a measurement of the this central tendency, such as the mode, the median and the mean, this latter coming in a variety of forms: harmonic mean, geometric mean and arithmetic mean. The arithmetic mean is the most common type of mean, and it is the one that most people would generally take as the average.
Thus one way of defining the average would be:
- the sum of a group of numbers divided by the number of numbers it the group.
Please see the table of mathematical symbols for explanations of the symbols used.
Example of calculation
The average of 3, 5, and 7 is <math>15 \div 3=5</math>.