To find the mean of a given set of data items, you need to follow these steps:
1. Sum the data items: Add up all the numbers in the dataset.
2. Count the number of data items: Determine how many numbers are in the dataset.
3. Divide the sum by the number of items: This will give you the mean.
Let's break it down for the given data items: 5, 4, 9, 7, 8, 2, 3, 4.
Step 1: Sum the data items
First, add all the numbers together:
[tex]\[ 5 + 4 + 9 + 7 + 8 + 2 + 3 + 4 \][/tex]
Step 2: Count the number of data items
Next, count how many numbers there are:
[tex]\[ \text{There are 8 numbers in total.} \][/tex]
Step 3: Divide the sum by the number of items
Divide the sum of the numbers by the total number of items to find the mean:
The sum of the data items is 42, and there are 8 numbers. So,
[tex]\[ \text{Mean} = \frac{\text{Sum of data items}}{\text{Number of data items}} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ \text{Mean} = \frac{42}{8} = 5.25 \][/tex]
Therefore, the mean of the given data items is 5.25.
