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Mathematics vocabulary · Word Problems

Average

Meaning in mathematics, with examples

/ˈævərɪdʒ/nounCore term

In mathematics, average means: A single value that represents a group of numbers, usually their total divided by how many there are; the average of 4, 6 and 11 is 7.

In Turkish: ortalama, aritmetik ortalama

How it is used

Very common in word problems: average speed, average score, average age. In statistics the more precise word is 'mean'; the 'median' (middle value) and the 'mode' (most frequent value) are other kinds of average.

Example sentences

  1. The average of five test scores is 72. What is their total?

  2. Average speed is total distance divided by total time, not the average of the two speeds.

Common collocations

  • on average
  • average speed
  • the average of
  • find the average
  • above average
  • sumThe result you get when you add two or more numbers together; for example, the sum of 4 and 6 is 10.
  • divided byThe words used to read the division sign ÷ or a slash aloud; for example, 20 ÷ 5 = 4 is read 'twenty divided by five equals four'.
  • rateA ratio that compares two quantities measured in different units, such as kilometres per hour or litres per minute.
  • estimateTo find an approximate value quickly, usually by rounding the numbers first, so that you can check whether an exact answer is reasonable.

More terms: Word Problems

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