A mean question with a dot plot asks you to share the total points evenly among all the players. Read each dot as one player’s score, so stacked dots make a score appear more than once in your list. Then use Desmos to find the total and the mean. Don’t mistake the total for the mean.
Hints
- Hint 1
On a dot plot, each dot represents one player’s score. Two dots above the same number mean two players scored that number. How many entries should your list have after you’ve read every dot?
- Hint 2
The mean spreads the total points evenly across the players, not across the different scores shown on the axis. Once you have the total, what count should you divide by?
Step-by-step
List the scores and find their mean
Step 1Read every dot as a score
Each dot marks one player’s score at the number beneath it. Stacked dots are repeated scores, not a new value. The plot shows one , two s, one , and two s, so the six scores are .
- Step 2
Find the total points
Type the scores as , then type to add them. Desmos shows . That’s the total points, not yet the mean.
- Step 3
Divide the total among the players
The mean is the total divided by the number of scores. Add ; Desmos shows , which is . Divide by the six players, not the four different scores on the axis. The mean is points per player. Choice A.