Step by step
The question
Question: find the mean of 5, 8, 6 and 9.
Mean of 5, 8, 6, 9
The mean is the fair share.
We add them all, then share the total equally.
mean: add them all, then ÷ how many
1 Add them all
We add all the numbers, from left to right.
= 5 + 8 + 6 + 9
So the total is 28.
= total = 28
2 Count them
Now we count the numbers.
There are 4.
= how many = 4
3 Share equally
We share the total equally: 28 divided by 4.
= mean = 284
28 divided by 4 is 7.
= mean = 7
4 Check
Let's check: if every number were 7, 4 of them would make 7 times 4.
That is 28, the total.
So it is right!
7 × 4 = 28
Let's look back.
First: add them all.
Then: count them.
Then: share equally.
Last: check.
Answer
= mean = 7