This FAQ demonstrates the AVERAGE command available in Sheets and Excel.
Category: College Math
Find a Population Mean Using a Spreadsheet
In 2012, Toyota claimed to have the most fuel efficient passenger car fleet. Based on mileage estimates from Edmunds.com, the table below shows the mileage of passenger vehicles manufactured by Toyota.
Vehicle | Miles per Gallon |
Prius C | 50 |
Camry Hybrid LE – 2.5 liter, automatic | 41 |
Camry Hybrid XLE – 2.5 liter, automatic | 40 |
Yaris – 1.5 liter, manual | 33 |
Yaris – 1.5 liter, automatic | 32 |
Corolla – 1.8 liter, manual | 30 |
Corolla – 1.8 liter, automatic | 29 |
Camry – 2.5 liter, automatic | 28 |
Camry – 3.5 liter, automatic | 25 |
Avalon – 3.5 liter, automatic | 23 |
Use this table to find the mean miles per gallon for Toyota passenger vehicles in 2012.
Solution To find the mean using Excel, we’ll use the spreadsheet command AVERAGE.
1. Enter the data from the table into the different cells in the spreadsheet. Column A is not required, but is useful.
2. Click on cell B13. This is where we will place the mean of the data. Type =AVERAGE( as shown to the right. The command will be shown in the cell as well as the function bar. To indicate the location of the data, type B2:B11. You can also click in cell B2, hold the left mouse button down and drag the cursor to cell B11. Type ) to complete the command.
3. Press Enter to calculate the mean of the data.
Find the Mode Using a Spreadsheet
During the week of 6/7/2012 through 6/14/2012, eight homes were sold in Paradise Valley, Arizona in the area code 85253. The sales prices for these homes are listed below.
900,000
535,000
182,500
1,550,000
2,250,000
1,525,000
490,000
1,525,000
Find the mode of the home sales prices.
Solution Use the MODE command in a spreadsheet to compute the mode of the data.
1. Enter the data from the table into the different cells in a spreadsheet.
2. Click on cell A11. This is where we will place the mode of the data. Type =MODE( as shown to the right. The command will be shown in the cell as well as the function bar. To indicate the location of the data, type A2:A9. You can also click in cell A2, hold the left mouse button down and drag the cursor to cell A9.
Type ) to complete the command.
3. Press Enter to compute the mode.
How Do You Model a Stock Portfolio Containing Two Stocks?
Suppose we want to construct a stock portfolio containing two stocks. If we have $50,000 to invest and desire a total dividend return of 3%, how much must we invest in each stock?
Although this is a pretty simple portfolio, it gives us insight into how we can model the portfolio with a system of linear equations.
What Should Have Happened on Gilligan’s Island?
Put a bunch of people of both genders on a deserted island…what should happen?