Feb 25, 2012

Arithmetic mean


The average height of 100 boys in a school is 6 feet.


Q. Which statement is absolutely correct?


1) There are 50 students who are shorter than 6 feet, and there are 50 students who are taller than 6 feet.


2) The total height of the 100 students is 6 * 100 = 600 feet.


3) If the students are divided into 3 groups: (A)4.5 - 5.4 feet, (B) 5.5 - 6.5 feet , (C) 6.5 - 7.5 feet , the greatest number of group is (B).




This is a test for Japanese college students in order to check their fundamental academic skills. The fact is that Japanese college students who took this test couldn't get correct answer. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which is a Japan's ministry, reported that 24% of  Even 5% of students of the University of Tokyo, which is famous for the highest educational institution in Japan, got wrong answer. I was shocked when I heard this news.
By the way, the correct answers are 1) No, 2) Yes, and 3) No. The original problem is written in Japanese, and 6 feet was 163.5 cm.


This fact means that only 76% of college students understand what the average is. It is a sort of serious problem in Japan because they are expected to be business people in the future of Japan. If some of them really do not understand the idea of the average, they might not only be a good business people but also be suffered from some social activities.


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