Average Calculator

The mean is a measure of central tendency that represents the average value of a set of data. It is calculated by adding up all the values in the data set and then dividing by the total number of values. For example, if we have the following data set: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25

The mean is calculated as follows:

The mean is often used as a measure of central tendency because it takes into account all of the values in the data set. However, the mean can be heavily influenced by extreme values or outliers in the data. For example, if we add an outlier to the above data set: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 100

The mean is calculated as follows:

The mean has increased significantly due to the influence of the outlier (100). Therefore, the mean may not be the best measure of central tendency to use when there are extreme values or outliers in the data set.

It is important to note that the mean is only an appropriate measure of central tendency for numerical data that is roughly symmetrically distributed around a central value. If the data is skewed or not normally distributed, the mean may not accurately represent the typical value of the data. In such cases, other measures of central tendency such as the median or mode may be more appropriate.