How is the mean calculated in a dataset?

The correct method for calculating the mean in a dataset involves adding all the scores together and then dividing that total by the number of scores in the dataset. This process gives you the average value, which is a central measure used in statistics to summarize data.

Calculating the mean is useful because it provides a quick snapshot of the overall performance or behavior of the data set, allowing for easy comparisons across different datasets or groups. For example, if you have exam scores of students, calculating the mean score helps to understand the general performance level of the class as a whole.

The other methods described do not yield the mean: multiplying all scores together results in a product, which does not represent an average; subtracting the lowest score from the highest gives you the range of the dataset, showing the spread rather than the central tendency; and finding the most frequent score identifies the mode of the dataset, which is another measure of central tendency but distinctly different from the mean.