To calculate the mean number of hours spent on homework, we can use the formula for the mean, which is:
\[ \text{Mean} = \frac{\text{Total Hours}}{\text{Total Number of Students}} \]
First, we need to find the total number of hours spent on homework:
- 8 students did 1 hour: \(8 \times 1 = 8\) hours
- 6 students did 2 hours: \(6 \times 2 = 12\) hours
- 4 students did 3 hours: \(4 \times 3 = 12\) hours
- 2 students did 4 hours: \(2 \times 4 = 8\) hours
- 1 student did 5 hours: \(1 \times 5 = 5\) hours
Now we can sum these values:
\[ \text{Total Hours} = 8 + 12 + 12 + 8 + 5 = 45 \text{ hours} \]
Next, we find the total number of students:
\[ \text{Total Number of Students} = 8 + 6 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 21 \text{ students} \]
Now we can calculate the mean:
\[ \text{Mean} = \frac{45 \text{ hours}}{21 \text{ students}} \approx 2.14 \text{ hours} \]
Thus, the mean number of hours students spend on homework is approximately 2.14 hours.