Skill: Interpret mean as fair share

The mean tells you the fair share each value would get if the total were divided equally.

To find the mean:

1. Add all the values to find the total.
2. Count how many values there are.
3. Divide the total by the number of values.

Example: Find the mean of $6, 8, 10,$ and $12$.

Step 1: Add the values.

$$6+8+10+12=36$$

The total is $36$.

Step 2: Count the values.

There are $4$ values.

Step 3: Divide the total by the number of values.

$$36\div 4=9$$

So, the mean is:

$$\boxed{9}$$

This means that if the total of $36$ were shared equally among $4$ groups, each group would receive $9$. The mean does not have to be one of the original values; in this example, $9$ was not in the data set.