Question

When you calculate a mean, the sign of the quotient always depends on the sign of the dividend. Why?

Answer 1

here are the steps to finding the mean

Answer 2

step 1) add up all the numbers

step 2) divide that sum you got in step 1 by the number of numbers in the list

Answer 3

when you get to step 2, you will ALWAYS be dividing by a positive number

why?

because this number is the count of numbers in the list. You can't have a negative count

Answer 4

so because

mean = (sum of numbers)/(number of numbers)

and the "sum of numbers" part is the dividend, this means that the mean will only be negative if the dividend is negative

Answer 5

Thank you - got it now.

Answer 6

you're welcome