Problem-Solving and Data AnalysisEasy–MediumAdding a constant to every value
Problem-Solving and Data Analysis practice question
A data set has a mean of 12. If 5 is added to every value in the data set, what is the mean of the new data set?
Answer: 17
Adding 5 to every value shifts the whole set up by 5, so the mean rises by 5: 12 + 5 = 17.
Common wrong answers
- If you answered 7
- 7 is 12 − 5; the values were increased, so the mean increases.
- If you answered 12
- The mean does change: every value moved up, so their average moved up too.
- If you answered 60
- 60 is 12 × 5; adding 5 to each value ADDS 5 to the mean, it doesn't multiply it.
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