Step by step
The question
Question: find the mean of −3, 5, 2 and −4.
Mean of −3, 5, 2, −4
The mean is the fair share.
We add them all, then share the total equally.
Adding a negative number means going down.
mean: add them all, then ÷ how many
+ (−4) = go down 4
1 Add them all
We add all the numbers, from left to right.
= −3 + 5 + 2 + (−4)
So the total is 0.
= total = 0
2 Count them
Now we count the numbers.
There are 4.
= how many = 4
3 Share equally
We share the total equally: 0 divided by 4.
= mean = 04
0 divided by 4 is 0.
= mean = 0
4 Check
Let's check: if every number were 0, 4 of them would make 0 times 4.
That is 0, the total.
So it is right!
0 × 4 = 0
Let's look back.
First: add them all.
Then: count them.
Then: share equally.
Last: check.
Answer
= mean = 0