How to Figure Out Averages

Learn to figure out averages.

You will encounter averages everywhere - average prices, average grades, etc. And your life will definitely be a lot easier if you learn how to figure them out. In most cases, the average everyone refers to is a simple arithmetic mean, and it is not at all difficult to calculate. The instructions below will show how to easily figure an average of a set of numbers.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator

Instructions

1. Look at the list of numbers you want to average, and figure out how many you have. Let's call this number n. For example, if you are looking at a list of grades, then n will be the number of students, n = 6 in the picture shown.

2. Add up all the numbers you want to average. For instance, if you want to figure out an average grade in the picture shown, add these up:
   sum = 95 + 63 + 71 + 59 + 86 + 84 = 458.

3. To get the average, divide the sum of numbers by n. Thus, the average grade in our example turns out to be 458 / 6 = 76.33.

4. While you can use a calculator to easily figure out an average of a small set of numbers, for larger sets - use a spreadsheet. Please check the resource section for an article on calculating averages with spreadsheets.

Resources

• How to Figure Out Percentages
• How to Figure Out Sale Prices
• How to Figure Out Sales Tax
• How to Figure Out an Average in Spreadsheets