What was the mean number of languages spoken per person?

\begin{tabular}{|c|c|}
\hline \begin{tabular}{c}
Number of \\
languages
\end{tabular} & Frequency \\
\hline 1 & 9 \\
\hline 2 & 8 \\
\hline 3 & 3 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}



Answer :

To determine the mean number of languages spoken per person, follow these steps:

1. Identify the data provided:
- Number of languages spoken: [tex]\(1, 2, 3\)[/tex]
- Corresponding frequencies: [tex]\(9, 8, 3\)[/tex]

2. Calculate the total number of people:
To find the total number of people surveyed, sum the frequencies:
[tex]\[ 9 + 8 + 3 = 20 \][/tex]
So, there are [tex]\(20\)[/tex] people in total.

3. Calculate the total number of languages spoken:
To find the total number of languages spoken by all people, multiply each number of languages by its corresponding frequency and then sum these products:
[tex]\[ (1 \times 9) + (2 \times 8) + (3 \times 3) = 9 + 16 + 9 = 34 \][/tex]

4. Calculate the mean number of languages spoken per person:
The mean is found by dividing the total number of languages spoken by the total number of people:
[tex]\[ \text{Mean number of languages spoken} = \frac{\text{Total number of languages spoken}}{\text{Total number of people}} = \frac{34}{20} = 1.7 \][/tex]

So, the mean number of languages spoken per person is [tex]\(1.7\)[/tex].