Answers to the odd-numbered problems are available at the end of the book.
- Calculate a simple average for the following series of numbers: 8, 17, 6, 33, 15, 12, 13, 16
- Calculate a simple average for the following series of dollar amounts: $1,500, $2,000, $1,750, $1,435, $2,210
- Calculate a weighted average for the following series of numbers: 4, 4, 4, 4, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 15, 15
- Calculate a weighted average for the data and associated weights outlined in the table below.
Data and Associated Weights
| Data |
Weight |
| $3,600 |
2 |
| $3,300 |
5 |
| $3,800 |
3 |
| $2,800 |
6 |
| $5,800 |
4 |
Applications
- If a 298 mL can of soup costs $2.39, what is the average price per millilitre?
- Kerry participated in a fundraiser for the Children’s Wish Foundation yesterday. She sold 115 pins for $3 each, 214 ribbons for $4 each, 85 coffee mugs for $7 each, and 347 baseball hats for $9 each. Calculate the average amount Kerry raised per item.
- In determining the hourly wages of its employees, a company uses a weighted system that factors in local, regional, and national competitor wages. Local wages are considered most important and have been assigned a weight of 5. Regional and national wages are not as important and have been assigned weights of 3 and 2, respectively. If the hourly wages for local, regional, and national competitors are $16.35, $15.85, and $14.75, what hourly wage does the company pay?
- Canadian Tire is having an end-of-season sale on barbecues, and only four floor models remain, priced at $299.97, $345.49, $188.88, and $424.97. What is the average price for the barbecues?
- Calculate the grade point average (GPA) for the following student. Round your answer to two decimals.
Grades and Credit Hours by Course
| Course |
Grade |
Credit Hours |
| Economics 100 |
D |
5 |
| Math 100 |
B |
3 |
| Marketing 100 |
C |
4 |
| Communications 100 |
A |
2 |
| Computing 100 |
A+ |
3 |
| Accounting 100 |
B+ |
4 |
Grades and Associated Grade Points
| Grade |
Grade Point |
| A+ |
4.5 |
| A |
4.0 |
| B+ |
3.5 |
| B |
3.0 |
| C+ |
2.5 |
| C |
2.0 |
| D |
1.0 |
| F |
0.0 |
- An accountant needs to report the annual average age (the length of time) of accounts receivable (AR) for her corporation. This requires averaging the monthly AR averages, which are listed below. Calculate the annual AR average.
Accounts Receivable (AR) Averages by Month
| Month |
Monthly AR Average |
| January |
$45,000 |
| February |
$70,000 |
| March |
$85,000 |
| April |
$97,000 |
| May |
$145,000 |
| June |
$180,000 |
| July |
$260,000 |
| August |
$230,000 |
| September |
$185,000 |
| October |
$93,000 |
| November |
$60,000 |
| December |
$50,000 |
Challenge, Critical Thinking, & Other Applications
- Gabrielle is famous for her trail mix recipe. By weight, the recipe calls for 50% pretzels, 30% Cheerios, and 20% peanuts. She wants to make a 2 kg container of her mix. If pretzels cost $9.99/kg, Cheerios cost $6.99/kg, and peanuts cost $4.95/kg, what is the average cost per 100 g rounded to four decimals?
- Caruso is the marketing manager for a local John Deere franchise. He needs to compare his average farm equipment sales against his local Case IH competitor’s sales. In the past three months, his franchise has sold six $375,000 combines, eighteen $210,000 tractors, and fifteen $120,000 air seeders. His sales force estimates that the Case IH dealer has sold four $320,000 combines, twenty-four $225,000 tractors, and eleven $98,000 air seeders. Express the Case IH dealer’s average sales as a percentage of the John Deere dealer’s average sales.
- You are shopping for a Nintendo WiiU gaming console visit a shopping website, which finds online sellers and lists their prices for comparison. Based on the following list, what is the average price for a gaming console (rounded to two decimals)?
Price of WiiU by Online Seller
| Online Seller |
Price |
| NothingButSoftware |
$274.99 |
| eComElectronics |
$241.79 |
| NextDayPC |
$241.00 |
| Ecost |
$249.99 |
| Amazon |
$169.99 |
| eBay |
$165.00 |
| Buy |
$199.99 |
| HSN |
$299.95 |
| Gizmos for Life |
$252.90 |
| Toys ‘R’ Us |
$169.99 |
| Best Buy |
$169.99 |
| The Bay |
$172.69 |
| Walmart |
$169.00 |
This chapter was adapted from Business Math: A Step-by-Step Handbook (2021A version), by Jean-Paul Olivier, under a CC-BY-NC-SA license. Adaptations include supplementing and reordering content.
