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Finding the mean worksheets

The mean shares a total out equally: add every number, then divide by how many there are. These free printable worksheets keep to that one statistic, built so every mean lands on a whole number.

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Finding the mean
Finding the mean worksheet — Sets of five, whole-number means, free printable with answer key

The answer key prints on a separate page.

What's on this sheet

The mean is the number each value would be if the total were split evenly, and saying it that way is what keeps it from being just a button. Five numbers that add to 30 have a mean of 6 — not because 6 is in the set, but because 30 shared five ways is 6 each. The mean often is not one of the numbers, and a child who expects to find it sitting in the row has misunderstood what it measures.

Why this sheet works

Every set is built backward from a total that divides evenly, so the answer is always whole. A mean is a division and five free numbers give 27.4 about as often as not; a blank meant for a whole number cannot hold that, so the totals are chosen to divide by the count — the same way the long-division sheets are built backward from a clean answer.

How this one works

One question from this sheet, worked through a step at a time.

Mean of 13, 28, 13, 11, 20

1328131120
1328131120
13 + 28 + 13 + 11 + 20 =85
1328131120
13 + 28 + 13 + 11 + 20 =85
85 ÷ 5 =17
  1. The mean is what every number WOULD be if the total were shared out evenly. So first find the total.
  2. 13 + 28 + 13 + 11 + 20 = 85.
  3. Now share it between all 5 of them: 85 ÷ 5 = 17.

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