Question

The graph shows the number of hours randomly selected students spent on math homework. What is the mean number of hours students spend on homework?
1.4 hours
2.7 hours
3 hours
2.14 hours

8 students did 1 hour, 6 students did 2 hours, 4 did 3 hours, 2 did 4 hours, and 1 did 5 hours

Answer 1

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**.