Example 2. The mean of the following data is 1414. Find the value of kk. x510152025f7k845\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline x & 5 & 10 & 15 & 20 & 25 \\ \hline f & 7 & k & 8 & 4 & 5 \\ \hline \end{array}

Answer: k=6k = 6

Step-by-step solution

Step 1: Construct the calculation table for direct method

To find the mean, we multiply each value xix_i by its corresponding frequency fif_i to get fixif_i x_i. Adding the frequencies gives ∑fi=7+k+8+4+5=24+k\sum f_i = 7 + k + 8 + 4 + 5 = 24 + k. Adding the products gives ∑fixi=35+10k+120+80+125=360+10k\sum f_i x_i = 35 + 10k + 120 + 80 + 125 = 360 + 10k.

Step 2: Apply the mean formula

The formula for the mean is xˉ=∑fixi∑fi\bar{x} = \frac{\sum f_i x_i}{\sum f_i}. We substitute the given mean xˉ=14\bar{x} = 14, ∑fi=24+k\sum f_i = 24 + k, and ∑fixi=360+10k\sum f_i x_i = 360 + 10k into the equation.

Step 3: Solve for k

Cross-multiplying gives 14(24+k)=360+10k14(24 + k) = 360 + 10k, which simplifies to 336+14k=360+10k336 + 14k = 360 + 10k. Transposing 10k10k to the left side and 336336 to the right side yields 14k−10k=360−33614k - 10k = 360 - 336, so 4k=244k = 24. Dividing both sides by 44 gives k=6k = 6.

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