Question

a zookeeper recorded the lengths of 7 snakes in the zoo:
44 centimeters 54 centimeters 40 centimeters 45 centimeters 50 centimeters
29 centimeters 35 centimeters
what was the mean length of the snakes? round your answer to the nearest whole number
centimeters

Explanation:

Step1: Sum up all the lengths

$$44 + 54 + 40 + 45 + 50 + 29 + 35$$
$$=(44+54)+(40+45)+(50+29)+35$$
$$=98 + 85+79 + 35$$
$$=(98 + 85)+(79 + 35)$$
$$=183+114$$
$$=297$$

Step2: Calculate the mean

The formula for the mean $\bar{x}=\frac{\sum_{i = 1}^{n}x_{i}}{n}$, where $n = 7$ (the number of snakes) and $\sum_{i=1}^{n}x_{i}=297$.
So $\bar{x}=\frac{297}{7}\approx42.43$

Step3: Round to the nearest whole number

Since the decimal part $0.43<0.5$, we round down.

Answer:

$42$ centimeters