IGCSE Averages and Range

Averages
There are different averages: some are more meaningful than others depending on the context.

What is the average number of ears

in the world human population?

The mode ?
The mode represents the most common value.
(the “modal average”) Modal number of ears: 2?
? value.
The median represents the middle

The median Median number of ears: ?2

The mean takes into account all values. We add up the values and divide by
the number of values.
The mean ?
Mean number of ears: 1.99999
Averages

The mode tends to be a good average when the values are

The mode discrete and have a limited range of values.
(the “modal average”) e.g. “red red red green blue” (the mode is ‘red’)

Median is often good because it makes it easier to tell

The median whether a value is in the top 50% or the bottom 50%.
It’s also less sensitive to extreme values.

The mean is the best average to use if we want to take all

the values into account.
The mean

Salaries of people in the room: £13,000 £18,000 £24,000

£25,500 £26,000 £32,000 £45,000 £1,200,000
What would the best average be here? Median, because the £1,200,000 salary drags up
?
the mean. Otherwise all but one person would
earn less than the average!
Averages
Copy these numbers down, and work out the mean, mode and median.

10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 17, 20

The mode
(the “modal average”)
17?

The median 16?

The mean 10 + 13 + 15 + 16 + 17
? + 17 + 20 = 15.43
7
Averages – Round 2!
Copy these numbers down, and work out the mean, mode and median.

13, 13, 17, 20

The mode
(the “modal average”)
13?
When there’s two items in the middle, we use the
The median 15
? value in between: i.e. add them and divide by 2.

The mean 15.75

?

The range is the difference between

The range 7? the smallest and largest number.
The range is NOT an average.
 Puzzles involving mean
In pairs, see how many of these puzzles you can work out…

1 The mean average of T. Charisma and 3 If the range of two numbers is 6

Sebastian’s age is 19.5. If Sebastian is and the their mean is 15, what are
13, how old is T. Charisma ? the two numbers?

Answer: 26? Answer: ? 18

12 and

2 The mean of the four numbers is 8. 4 The mode of four numbers is

What is the missing number? 5. The median is 6.5 and the
mean is 7. What is the range?
3 4 5 ?
Answer: 5
Answer: 20
? ?
(The numbers are 5, 5, 8, 10)
Using totals
When dealing with problems involving mean, it’s helpful to think about how the
total changes:
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 × 𝑛𝑢𝑚 𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠

A class with 30 students gets an average mark of 60%. An extra student

joins and the average mark rose to 61%. What mark did he get?

What was the total mark before?

𝟑𝟎 × 𝟔𝟎 = 𝟏𝟖𝟎𝟎
?
What was the total mark after?
𝟑𝟏 × 𝟔𝟏 = 𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟏
?
Therefore what mark did the student get?
𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟏 − 𝟏𝟖𝟎𝟎 = 𝟗𝟏%
?
Test Your Understanding
[JMC 2003 Q9] The mean age of the four members of ‘All Sinners’
boy band is 19. What is the mean age when an extra member who is
24 years old joins them?
A 19 B 20 C 21 D 22 E 24

A B C D E
[JMC 2010 Q20] Nicky has to choose 7 different positive whole
numbers whose mean is 7. What is the largest possible such number
she could choose?
A 7 B 28 C 34 D 43 E 49

A B C D E
𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 = 𝟕 × 𝟕 = 𝟒𝟗

To make last number as large as possible, make others as small as possible.

Smallest the others numbers could be: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (which sum to 21)
Exercise 1 (on provided sheet)

2 4
For the following lists of numbers, determine the 5 [JMC 2011 Q13] What is the mean of and ?
3 9
1 𝟓
following: ?
Solution:
𝟗
Mode Median Mean Range 6 [JMC 2003 Q19] When the diagram below is
complete, the number in the middle of each
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 None 3 ?3 4 group of 3 adjoining cells is the mean of its
1, 3, 3, 6, 10, 13 3 4.5 ?6 12 two neighbours. What number goes in the
-4, -2, 6, 6 6 2 ?1.5 10 right-hand end cell? ?
Solution: 24
1 2
0, , , 1
3 3
None 0.5 ?0.5 1
-1.8, 0, 2.7, 4.9, 4.9 3.8
4.9, 14.9
?4.26 16.7
7 [Kangaroo Grey 2013 Q4] There are five
families living in my road. Which of the
Determine the numbers given the clues. following could not be the mean number of
2 a. Two numbers have a mean of 9 and a range of 6. children per family that live there?
A 0.2 B 1.2 C 2.2
?
Solution: 6, 12
D 2.4 E 2.5 ?
Solution: E
b. The mode of four numbers is 6, the median is 8, 1 1 1
[IMC 2004 Q10] What is the mean of , ,
?
and the mean is 9. Solution: 6, 6, 10, 14 8 1
2 3 4
𝟓
c. The median of four numbers is 6, the range is 5 and ?
6 ?
Solution:
𝟏𝟔

?
and the mode is 4. Solution: 4, 4, 8, 9 9 [JMC 2007 Q20] At halftime, Boarwarts
Academy had scored all of the points so far in
[JMC 2013 Q2] Heidi is 2.1m tall, while Lola is only 1.4m tall. their annual match against Range Hill School.
3
?
What is their average height? Solution: 1.75m
[JMC 2007 Q12] The six-member squad for the Ladybirds
In the second half, each side scored three
4 points. At the end of the match, Boardwarts
five-a-side team consists of a 2-spot ladybird, a 10-spot, a Academy had scored 90% of the points. What
14-spot, an 18-spot, a 24-spot and a pine ladybird (on the fraction of the points in the match was
bench). The average number of spots for members of the 𝟏
squad is 12. How many spots has the pine ladybird? S: 4 ? scored in the second half?
?
Solution:
𝟓
Exercise 1 (on provided sheet)

[Kangaroo Grey 2011 Q12] A teacher has a list of

10
marks: 17, 13, 5, 10, 14, 9, 12, 16. Which two marks
N1 [JMO Mentoring Feb2012 Q5] On the
second to last test of the school year,
can be removed without changing the mean?
A 12 and 17 B 5 and 17 C 9 and 16 Barbara scored 98 and her average
D 10 and 12 E 10 and 14 Solution: E score so far then increased by 1. On
? the last test she scored 70 at which her
The sum of five consecutive integers is equal to average score then decreased by 2.
11 How many tests has she taken through
140. What is the smallest of the five integers?
Solution: 26 the school year?
?
[IMC 2015 Q11] Three different positive integers
?
Solution: 10
12
have a mean of 7. What is the largest positive
[Cayley 2007 Q6] You are told that one
integer that could be one of them? N2
of the integers in a list of distinct
?
Solution: 18
positive integers is 97 and that their
13 [IMC 2006 Q15] What is the mean of 1. 2 and 2. 1 ? average value is 47.
A 1. 6 B 1.666 C 1.665 (a) If the sum of all the integers in the
D 1.65 list is 329, what is the largest possible
E 1.65
?
Solution: A
value for a number in the list?
(b) Suppose the sum of all the numbers
14 [SMC 2001 Q6] The mean of seven consecutive odd
in the list can take any value. What
numbers is 21. What is the sum of the first, third,
would the largest possible number in
fifth and seventh of these numbers?
the list be then?
?
Solution: 84
?
Solution: (a) 217 (b) 1078