In math, what is a mean?

Answer by  esteban (1334)

When most people say "average" they are referring to the mean. To find the mean of a set of numbers, you total them up, then divide by how many numbers there were. For example, the mean of the five numbers 6, 4, 3, 7, 5 is 6 + 4 + 3 + 7 + 5 = 25. 25/5 = 5.

Answer by  Clement (1453)

Yes. While "average" is a more commonly used term, "mean" has a more precise meaning in mathematics and statistics. Specifically, one might talk about the arithmetic mean, you would usually call the average, and mean as the expected value of a random variable. Furthermore, you can distinguish between the population mean and the sample mean.