A table with one measurement per country calls for a mean: add every measurement, then divide by the number of countries. Enter the areas as a Desmos list to get the total and mean. Each country contributes one area, even if that area is a small decimal. Stopping at the total or rounding to the wrong place gives a different result.
Hints
- Hint 1
The mean is the total shared equally among all the values. Include every area in the table, including Vatican City's decimal area. What do the five areas add up to?
- Hint 2
There are five countries, so divide the total area by . Keep the decimal result until the end; “nearest square kilometer” means round to a whole number, not to the nearest ten.
Step-by-step
Total the areas, then find the mean
Step 1Find the total land area
Enter the five areas in Desmos as a list: . Then type . Desmos shows square kilometers. Keep the : a small area still counts toward the total.
- Step 2
Divide by the number of countries
The mean is the total divided by the number of values. There are countries, so divide the total by :
Type in Desmos to get the same value, square kilometers. Don't stop at : that's the combined area, not the mean.
- Step 3
Round to the requested unit
To the nearest square kilometer means to the nearest whole number. Since is closer to than to , the mean land area is square kilometers. Choice B.