Lesson 10: Finding and Interpreting the Mean as the Balance Point | Unit 8: Data Sets and Distributions

Without calculating, decide if 15 minutes would be a good estimate of the mean for Kiran's walk times: 16, 11, 18, 12, 13. If you think it is a good estimate, explain your reasoning. If not, give a better estimate and explain your reasoning.

Calculate the sum of all distances to the left of the mean, then calculate the sum of all distances to the right of the mean for Kiran's walk times: 16, 11, 18, 12, 13. Explain how these sums show that the mean is a balance point for the values in the data set.

Noah scores 20 points in a game. Mai's score is 30 points. The mean score for Noah, Mai, and Clare is 40 points. What is Clare's score? Explain or show your reasoning.

Ten sixth-grade students reported the hours of sleep they get on nights before a school day. Their responses are recorded in the dot plot.

Looking at the dot plot, Lin estimated the mean number of hours of sleep to be 8.5 hours. Noah's estimate was 7.5 hours. Diego's estimate was 6.5 hours. Which estimate do you think is best? Explain how you know.