The mean of a set of numbers is 15. If one number is removed, the mean becomes 1
Practice Questions
Q1
The mean of a set of numbers is 15. If one number is removed, the mean becomes 12. What was the removed number?
18
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24
30
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
The mean of a set of numbers is 15. If one number is removed, the mean becomes 12. What was the removed number?
Step 1: Understand that the mean (average) of a set of numbers is calculated by adding all the numbers together and dividing by the total count of numbers.
Step 2: Let 'n' be the total number of items in the original set.
Step 3: Since the mean of the original set is 15, we can express the total sum of the numbers as 15n (because mean = total sum / number of items).
Step 4: When one number (let's call it 'x') is removed, the new total number of items becomes (n - 1).
Step 5: The new mean after removing 'x' is given as 12, so we can express the new total sum as 12(n - 1).
Step 6: Set up the equation: The total sum before removing 'x' (which is 15n) minus 'x' equals the new total sum (which is 12(n - 1)). This gives us the equation: 15n - x = 12(n - 1).
Step 7: Simplify the equation: 15n - x = 12n - 12.
Step 8: Rearrange the equation to solve for 'x': x = 15n - 12n + 12.
Step 9: This simplifies to x = 3n + 12.
Step 10: To find 'n', we can use the fact that when 'x' is removed, the mean becomes 12. We can substitute values for 'n' to find a suitable integer that makes sense.
Step 11: If we try n = 8 (as an example), we get x = 3(8) + 12 = 24.
