What is the mean and how do you calculate it from a data set?

• A. The sum of all values divided by the number of values.
• B. The maximum value divided by the number of values.
• C. The most frequent value.
• D. The sum divided by two.

Answer: (A)

The mean is a way to describe the central value of a data set by averaging all the numbers. To calculate it, you add up every value (the sum) and then divide that total by how many values there are in the data set.

For example, with the numbers 2, 5, and 7, the sum is 14 and there are 3 values, so the mean is 14 ÷ 3 ≈ 4.67. This single number represents the average value across all data points.

This is the best answer because it uses the standard method for finding the average: sum all values, then divide by the count. The other options don’t describe the average: taking the maximum value and dividing by the count isn’t the average; the most frequent value is the mode; dividing the sum by two isn’t related to the data’s size unless you have a very specific, unusual setup.