Arithmetic Mean - GRE Quantitative Reasoning

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Question

Column A

The mean of the sample of numbers 2, 5, and 10.

Column B

The mean of the sample of numbers 1, 5, and 15.

Answer

The arithmetic mean is the average of the sum of a set of numbers divided by the total number of numbers in the set. This is not to be confused with median or mode.

In Column A, the mean of 5.66 is obtained when the sum (17) is divided by the number of values in the set (3).

In Column B, the mean of 7 is obtained when 21 is divided by 3. Because 7 is greater than 5.66, Column B is greater. The answer is Column B.

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Question

Column A: The median of the set

Column B: The mean of the set

Answer

The median is the middle number of the data set. If there is an even number of quantities in the data set, take the average of the middle two numbers.

Here, there are 8 numbers, so (18 + 20)/2 = 19.

The mean, or average, is the sum of the integers divided by number of integers in the set: (20 + 35 + 7 + 12 + 73 + 12 + 18 + 31) / 8 = 26

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Question

Bill runs for 30 minutes at 8 mph and then runs for 15 minutes at 13mph. What was his average speed during his entire run?

Answer

Rate = distance/time.

Find the distance for each individual segment of the run (4 miles and 3.25miles). Then add total distance and divide by total time to get the average rate, while making sure the units are compatible (miles per hour not miles per minute), which means the total 45 minute run time needs to be converted to 0.75 of an hour; therefore (4miles + 3.25 miles/0.75 hour) is the final answer.

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Question

Sample Set A has 25 data points with an arithmetic mean of 50.

Sample Set B has 75 data points with an arithmetic mean of 100.

Quantity A: The arithmetic mean of the 100 data points encompassing A and B

Quantity B: 80

Answer

Note that:

The arithmetic mean of the 100 data points encompassing A and B =

(total data of Sample Set A + total data of Sample Set B)/100

We have Mean of Sample Set A = 50, or:

(total of Sample Set A) / 25 = 50

And we have Mean of Sample Set B = 100, or:

(total of Sample Set B) / 75 = 100

We get denominators of 100 by dividing both of the equations:

Divide \[(total of Sample Set A) / 25 = 50\] by 4:

(total of Sample Set A) / 100 = 50/4 = 25/2

Multiply \[(total of Sample Set B)/75 = 100\] by 3/4:

(total of Sample Set B)/100 = 75

Now add the two equations together:

(total data of Sample Set A + total data of Sample Set B)/100

= 75 + 25/2 > 80

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Question

The average (arithmetic mean) of x, y and z is 15. If w is 10, then what is the average of w, x, y and z?

Answer

We can calculate the arithmetic mean by adding up the numbers in a set, and dividing that total by the count of numbers in the set.

Thus, we know that (x + y + z) / 3 = 15. (Multiply both sides by 3.)

x + y + z = 45

We add w = 10 to that, and divide by the new count, 4.

55 / 4 = 13.75

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Question

The combined height of John and Sandy is 130 inches. Sandy, John, and Allen together have a combined height of 215 inches. Sandy and Allen have combined height of 137 inches. How tall is John?

Answer

Translate the question into a series of equations:

J + S = 130; J + S + A = 215; S + A = 137

Although there are several ways of approaching this, let us choose the path that is most direct. Given that J, S, A are all involved in the second equation, we can isolate J if we eliminate S and A - which can be done by using the data we have in the third equation. Since S + A = 137, we can rewrite J + S + A = 215 as:

J + 137 = 215.

Now, we only need to solve for J:

J = 215 - 137

J = 78 inches.

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Question

On a given exam, four students have an average score of 81 points. If another student takes the exam, what must he or she score in order to increase the overall average to at least 83 points?

Answer

Begin by translating the current state of affairs into an equation. We know that for four students, the average is ascertained by taking the sum of the scores (s) and dividing that by four:

s / 4 = 81; s = 324

Now, when we add the additional student, that person's score (x) will be added to the value for s. The average of this new group will be divided among five students. We must solve for the case in which the average is 83 points (thus giving us the case for the minimum score x necessary.) This yields the following equation:

(324 + x) / 5 = 83

Solve for x:

324 + x = 415; x = 91

The minimum score necessary is 91 points.

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Question

Find the arithmetic mean of the following series of numbers:

1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12

Answer

To find the arithmetic mean of a series of numbers, add up all of the numbers and divide by the number of numbers in the series. Adding all the numbers gives us 40 and there are 8 numbers in the series. 40/8 = 5

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Question

Consider the given set of numbers 70, 81, 91, 83, 88, and 55.

A new number equal to a 12% increase in the median of this set is added to the list. What percentage larger is the mean of the new list in comparison with the original?

Answer

Reorder the set: 55, 70, 81, 83, 88, 91

Since the set is even, we find the median by taking the average of the middle two values: (81 + 83)/2 = 82

The average of the first set = (55 + 70 + 81 + 83 + 88 + 91)/6 = 468/6 = 78

The new value to be added is 82 * 1.12 = 91.84

This means the new mean is 559.84/7 = 79.9771

The increase in mean value is 79.9771 – 78 = 1.9771

This is (1.9771/78) 100, or 2.535% larger than the original mean.

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Question

A group of ten candy bars has an average cost of $0.89 per candy bar. How many bars must be bought at the cost of $0.72 a piece to bring the average down to $0.80?

Answer

We know to begin with that for x candy bards:

x / 10 = 0.89; x = 8.90

We are trying to ascertain how many bars (y) must be added to this to amount to have an average of 0.80. This is represented:

(8.9 + 0.72y) / (10 + y) = 0.8

8.9 + 0.72y = 0.8 (10 + y)

8.9 + 0.72y = 8 + 0.8y

8.9 – 8 = 0.8y - 0.72y

0.9 = 0.08y

y = 0.9 / 0.08 = 11.25

However, since we cannot have a partial amount of candy bars, we will have to buy 12.

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Question

In a given translation project, three translators each took sections of a book to translate. The first translator took 15000 words, which he translated at a rate of 500 words per 20 minutes. The second translator took 200000 words, which he translated at a rate of 1250 words per half hour. The third took 10000 words, which he translated at a rate of 250 words per 15 minutes. In terms of words per hour, what was the overall average translation rate for this project?

Answer

To find the answer, we need to know the total words and the total number of hours involved.

The first is easy: 15000 + 200000 + 10000 = 225000 words

To ascertain the number of hours, we have to look at each translator separately. Although there are several ways to do this, let's consider it this way:

Translator 1 can translate at 500 words per 20 minutes OR 1500 words per hour.

Translator 2 can translate at 1250 words per half hour OR 2500 words per hour.

Translator 3 can translate at 250 words per 15 minutes OR 1000 words per hour.

Therefore, we know each translator took the following amount of time:

Translator 1: 15000 / 1500 = 10 hours

Translator 2: 200000 / 2500 = 80 hours

Translator 3: 10000 / 1000 = 10 hours

The total number of hours was therefore 10 + 80 + 10 = 100 hours.

The average rate was 225000 words/100 hours, or 2250 words per hour.

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Question

A certain function takes the value 1 with probability 1/2, 2 with probability 1/3, and 3 with probability 1/6. What is the mean value of the function?

Answer

To find the mean or expected value, we multiply each value by its corresponding probability and add them up. So the mean = 1(1/2) + 2(1/3) + 3(1/6) = 5/3.

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Question

In the number set {12, 7, 2, 14, 12, 8, 9, 6, 11} f equals the mean, g equals the median, h equals the mode, and j equals the range.

Which statement is true?

Answer

The answer is f = g < j = h.

First rearrange the number set in a convenient form:

{2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 12, 14}

f = 9

g = 9

h = 12

j = 12

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Question

In a regular 52-card deck of cards, what is the expected number of aces in a 5-card hand?

Answer

There are 4 aces in the 52-card deck so the probability of dealing an ace is 4/52 = 1/13. In a 5-card hand, each card is equally likely to be an ace with probability 1/13. So together, the expected number of aces in a 5-card hand is 5 * 1/13 = 5/13.

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Question

Quantitative Comparison

The average of five numbers is 72.

Quantity A: the sum of the five numbers

Quantity B: 350

Answer

We know the formula here is average = sum / number of values. Plugging in the values we have, 72 = sum / 5. Then the sum = 72 * 5 = 360, so Quantity A is greater.

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Question

A special 4-sided dice has sides numbered 2, 4, 6, and 8. It lands with the 2 face-up with probability 0.1, 4 face-up with probability 0.2, 6 face-up with probability 0.3, and 8 face-up with probability 0.4. What is the expected value of the numbers that land face-up on the dice?

Answer

To find the expected value, we multiply the number by its corresponding probability.

expected value = 2(0.1) + 4(0.2) + 6(0.3) + 8(0.4) = 6

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Question

The average score on Betty's seven tests last semester was 85. If her average score on the first six tests was 87, what was her score on the seventh test?

Answer

sum for all 7 tests = 85 * 7 = 595

sum for first 6 tests = 87 * 6 = 522

score on 7th test = 595 – 522 = 73

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Question

The average of four numbers is 25. The average of three of these numbers is 20.

Quantity A: The value of the fourth number

Quantity B: 35

Answer

Let's assume that the three numbers that average 20 are x, y, and z. That means that the sum of x, y and z has to be 60. The average (in this case 20) is the sum of the numbers divided by the quantity of numbers (in this case 3). Thus the sum of the numbers must equal the average (in this case 20) times the number of numbers (in this case 3). Similarly the sum of x, y, z, and the fourth number have to equal 100. If x + y + z = 60 and x + y + z + 4th number = 100 then 4th number has to be 40 which is greater than Option B at 35.

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Question

Four groups of college students, consisting of 15, 20, 10, and 18 people respectively, discovered their average group weights to be 162, 148, 153, and 140, respectively. What is the average weight of all the students?

Answer

We know average = sum / number of students. Rearranging this formula gives sum = average * number of students. So to find the total average, we need to add up the four groups' sums and divide by the total number of students.

average = (15 * 162 + 20 * 148 + 10 * 153 + 18 * 140) / (15 + 20 + 10 + 18) = 150

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Question

Quantitative Comparison

The average weight of the 7 cats at the veterinarian's office is 8 pounds. The average weight of the 12 dogs at the vet is 16 pounds.

Quantity A: The average weight of all of the animals

Quantity B: The average weight of the cats plus the average weight of the dogs

Answer

Quantity B has fewer calculations so let's look at that first. We just need to add up the two averages, so Quantity B = 8 + 16 = 24.

To calculate Quantity A, we need the formula for average = total sum / total number of animals = (7 * 8 + 12 * 16) / (7 + 12) = 248/19 = 13.05.

13.05 is less than 24, so Quantity B is greater.

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