Calculate the Average: Finding the Mean of 11 and 7

Q: Why do I divide by 2 when finding the average of two numbers?

Because you have 2 numbers! The average formula is: sum ÷ count. Since you're averaging 11 and 7 (that's 2 numbers), you divide their sum by 2.

Q: How can I check if my average is reasonable?

The average should always be between your smallest and largest numbers. Since 7

Q: What if I need to find the average of more than two numbers?

Same process! Add all the numbers together, then divide by how many numbers you have. For 3 numbers, divide by 3; for 5 numbers, divide by 5.

Q: Is there a difference between 'average' and 'mean'?

In basic math, average and mean are the same thing! Both refer to adding up all values and dividing by the count of values.

Q: What if my answer has a decimal?

That's totally normal! Averages don't have to be whole numbers. For example, the average of 3 and 4 is 3.5, which is perfectly correct.

Arithmetic Mean with Two Numbers

Calculate the average of $11$ and $7$ .

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Step-by-step video solution

Watch the teacher solve the problem with clear explanations

00:00 Calculate the average

00:03 To calculate the average, we need to divide the sum by the number of occurrences

00:07 Add up the numbers

00:11 And divide by the number of occurrences (2)

00:20 And this is the solution to the question

Step-by-step written solution

Follow each step carefully to understand the complete solution

Understand the problem

Calculate the average of $11$ and $7$ .

Step-by-step solution

To solve this problem, we'll follow these steps:

Step 1: Add the two numbers.
Step 2: Divide the sum by 2 to find the average.

Now, let's work through each step:
Step 1: Add 11 and 7. This gives $11 + 7 = 18$ .
Step 2: Divide the sum by 2. Thus, the average is $\frac{18}{2} = 9$ .

Therefore, the solution to the problem is $9$ .

Final Answer

Key Points to Remember

Essential concepts to master this topic

Formula: Add all numbers, then divide by how many numbers
Technique: $11 + 7 = 18$ , then $\frac{18}{2} = 9$
Check: The average should be between the smallest and largest values: 7 < 9 < 11 ✓

Common Mistakes

Avoid these frequent errors

Adding numbers but forgetting to divide
Don't just add 11 + 7 = 18 and stop there! This gives you the sum, not the average. Always divide the sum by the count of numbers: 18 ÷ 2 = 9.

Practice Quiz

Test your knowledge with interactive questions

If the balls below are divided so that each column in the table contains an equal number, then how many balls will there be in each column?

FAQ

Everything you need to know about this question

Why do I divide by 2 when finding the average of two numbers?

Because you have 2 numbers! The average formula is: sum ÷ count. Since you're averaging 11 and 7 (that's 2 numbers), you divide their sum by 2.

How can I check if my average is reasonable?

The average should always be between your smallest and largest numbers. Since 7 < 9 < 11, our answer of 9 makes sense!

What if I need to find the average of more than two numbers?

Same process! Add all the numbers together, then divide by how many numbers you have. For 3 numbers, divide by 3; for 5 numbers, divide by 5.

Is there a difference between 'average' and 'mean'?

In basic math, average and mean are the same thing! Both refer to adding up all values and dividing by the count of values.

What if my answer has a decimal?

That's totally normal! Averages don't have to be whole numbers. For example, the average of 3 and 4 is 3.5, which is perfectly correct.

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