How Can I Mathematically Represent Five Mean Values in a Formula?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around formulating a mathematical representation for five mean values derived from experimental data. The original poster attempts to clarify how to express these means in a formula, specifically addressing the relationship between the means and the values being averaged.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the definition of means in relation to the values being summed, questioning the original poster's indication of having five means when the summation appears to involve only four values. There is an exploration of how to mathematically represent the means in a clear manner.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided clarifications regarding the mathematical representation of the means, suggesting a formula that could express the average of each data set. The conversation is ongoing, with participants seeking to ensure that the original poster's intent is accurately captured in the formula.

Contextual Notes

The original poster has conducted multiple experiments, each yielding a set of four values for which they need to calculate the mean. There is an emphasis on ensuring that the formula reflects the calculation of five distinct means from these sets of data.

random39a
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Homework Statement



I'm trying to formulate a formula based on an experiment I did.

Homework Equations



The Attempt at a Solution



jOQRNgZ.jpg
[/B]

where

x_1 = mean (one of 5 mean values)
x_i = value of variables (there are 4 of them added together)
n = number of variables

My problem is, for the left hand side of the formula, I want to show that there are 5 means, so x_1 to x_5 = the right hand side as shown

I'm not sure how to show this mathematically.

Wonder if anyone might be able to help.

Thanks.
 
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random39a said:

Homework Statement



I'm trying to formulate a formula based on an experiment I did.

Homework Equations



The Attempt at a Solution



jOQRNgZ.jpg
[/B]

where

x_1 = mean (one of 5 mean values)
x_i = value of variables (there are 4 of them added together)
n = number of variables
I don't understand what you're doing.
##x_1## is one of the four values in your summation. ##\bar{x_1}## is the mean of the four values. Since your summation runs from 1 to 4, I assume you mean for n to be 4, not 5 as you seem to indicate.
With n = 4, we have ##\bar{x_1} = (1/4)(x_1 + x_2 + x_3 + x_4)##
random39a said:
My problem is, for the left hand side of the formula, I want to show that there are 5 means, so x_1 to x_5 = the right hand side as shown
?
For the four numbers you're adding, there is only one mean.
 
Mark44 said:
I don't understand what you're doing.
##x_1## is one of the four values in your summation. ##\bar{x_1}## is the mean of the four values. Since your summation runs from 1 to 4, I assume you mean for n to be 4, not 5 as you seem to indicate.
With n = 4, we have ##\bar{x_1} = (1/4)(x_1 + x_2 + x_3 + x_4)##
?
For the four numbers you're adding, there is only one mean.
Thanks for reply.

I'm just trying to let the person who reads the formula know that I have used this formula to calculate 5 mean values x_1, x_2, x_3, x_4 and x_5.

eg/

result number one x_1 of 5 results x_5

YELLOW

499

ORANGE

317

PURPLE

545

BLACK

110

AVERAGE

367.75

The data above is one of 5 sets of data for which I have to calculate the mean.

For this data, I calculated the mean using my formula x_1= 1/4 (Sum of Yellow, Orange, Purple, Black) = 367.5

I did this 4 more times with 4 other data sets just like this one.

Does this make sense what I'm trying to do?
 
random39a said:
Thanks for reply.

I'm just trying to let the person who reads the formula know that I have used this formula to calculate 5 mean values x_1, x_2, x_3, x_4 and x_5.

eg/

result number one x_1 of 5 results x_5

YELLOW

499

ORANGE

317

PURPLE

545

BLACK

110

AVERAGE

367.75

The data above is one of 5 sets of data for which I have to calculate the mean.

For this data, I calculated the mean using my formula x_1= 1/4 (Sum of Yellow, Orange, Purple, Black) = 367.5

I did this 4 more times with 4 other data sets just like this one.

Does this make sense what I'm trying to do?
You need something like:
##\bar{x}_i = \frac14 \sum_{j=1}^{4}x_{ij}##

Where ##\bar{x}_i## is the average of the ##i##th set of data ##x_{i1} \dots x_{i4}##
 

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