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The average of 10 observations is 46. It was realised later that an observation was misread as 42 in place of 142. Find the correct average.
56
45
54
65
56
Calculate the net change in sum: 142тИТ42=+100. Divide by the number of observations (10) to find the change in average: 10100тАЛ=+10. Add this to the incorrect average: 46+10=56.
Number of observations = 10, Incorrect average = 46, Incorrect observation = 42, Correct observation = 142
Correct┬аAverage=Total┬аObservationsIncorrect┬аSumтИТIncorrect┬аValue+Correct┬аValueтАЛ
Calculate the net change in sum: 142тИТ42=+100. Divide by the number of observations (10) to find the change in average: 10100тАЛ=+10. Add this to the incorrect average: 46+10=56.
Students often add the difference directly to the incorrect average without dividing by the total number of observations, or they mistakenly subtract instead of adding.
Calculate Incorrect Sum
Find the total sum of the 10 observations using the incorrect average: Sum=10├Ч46=460.
Incorrect┬аSum=10├Ч46=460
Adjust the Sum
Subtract the wrongly read observation (42) and add the correct observation (142) to the incorrect sum.
Correct┬аSum=460тИТ42+142=560
Calculate Correct Average
Divide the corrected sum by the total number of observations (10).
Correct┬аAverage=10560тАЛ=56
A is correct because the corrected average calculated as 56 matches Option A.
This technique of adjusting sums directly is also frequently used in weighted averages and statistics problems involving missed data points.