Student scores
student score
tom 89
jon 72
sue 98
jill 78
zeke 62

five students in a small class made the test scores shown in the table. what was the mean absolute deviation for the class?
a) 10.96
b) 35.44
c) 52.87
d) 79.80

A) 10.96

Step-by-step explanation:

First find the mean:

Add up the values to find the mean of the data set:

89 + 72 + 98 + 78 + 62 = 399

Divide 399 by 5 because there are 5 numbers in the data set:

Subtract the numbers of the data set by the mean.

89 - 79.8 = 9.2

72 - 79.8 = -7.8

98 - 79.8 = 18.2

78 - 79.8 = -1.8

62 - 79.8 = -17.8

The mean deviation is always positive so change the negatives to positives.  After that, add them up:

9.2 + 7.8 + 18.2 + 1.8 + 17.8 = 54.8

Then divide 54.8 by 5 because there are five numbers in the data set.

The mean deviation is 10.96

example 2 – simplify: step 1: completely factor both the numerators and denominators of all fractions. step 2: change the division sign to a multiplication sign and flip (or reciprocate) the fraction after the division sign; essential you need to multiply by the reciprocal. step 3 : cancel or reduce the fractions.