Chapter

8 Averages

For a set of numbers, their average represents a central value around which the
numbers are spread. We usually calculate average by adding up all the numbers
and dividing them by the total number of elements in the set. Just like
percentages, averages is a simple concept taught in middle school. However,
there are often questions asked directly from Averages in the GMAT.

8.1 Calculating Averages

Calculation of average for a given set of numbers is extremely simple. Lets say
there are 5 numbers in a set. We add up those five numbers, and divide the sum
by 5 to calculate their average.

The formula for calculating the average of a set with n elements is :

Average = (E1+E2++En)/n

So, the average of four numbers 12, 15, 18, 22 is (12+15+18+22)/4 = 16.75

Example: A car travelled 20 km on Monday, and 30 km on Tuesday. Find the
average distance it travelled ?

Average distance travelled = (20+30)/2 = 25

This simple concept of averages is often mixed with concepts of number theory,
differentiation, time speed distance, time and work and so on. There arent too
many tricky questions that can be made out of this concept of averages.

Example: The average weight of a class of 15 students is x. When a new student
of 76kg is admitted, the average weight increases by 1kg. What is x ?

The total weight of 15 students = 15x
The total weight after the new student is admitted = 15x+76
New average = x+1
Therefore, 16(x+1) = 15x+76
16x + 16 = 15x + 76
x = 60

Lets mix it up with the concept of number theory.

Example: Find the average of: 33, 43, 53, 63, , 223.

The formula for sum of first n cubes =

!(!!!) !
!

=> 13 + 23 + 33 + + 223 =

!!!" !
!

= 64,009

=> 33 + 43 + 53 + + 223 = 64009 13 23 = 64,000

Since there are 20 terms, the average = 64000/20 = 3,200

Example: Three men make one ball in 6, 7, 9 minutes. What is the average
number of balls they make in one hour ?

Lets find the number of balls they make in one hour.
In one hour they make 60/6, 60/7, 60/9 balls, which are 10, 8.57, 6.66
respectively.
Therefore, total number of balls they can make together = 10+8.57+6.66 = 25.2
Average number of balls = 25.2/3 = 8.4

Types of Averages

There are many types of averages.

1. Weighted Average
2. Arithmetic Mean
3. Geometric Mean
4. Harmonic Mean

We shall study Weighted Average here, the others we shall study in the chapter
on progressions.

8.2 Weighted Average

Weighted average also considers the number of times an element is repeated in a
set, in other words, the weight of the element. The most common example of
weighted average is calculating CGPA some of the important subjects are given
more weight, while the less important ones are given less weight. The CGPA is
not calculated just by finding the average of the grades, but by calculating the
weighted average.

There are two elements in the set 1 and 9, and 1 is present only once, while 9 is
present 9 times. The set is {1,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9}.
If we find the simple average of both the elements, the average would be 5.
However, just a look at this set would tell you that the average is much closer to
9, than 5.
To find the weighted average, we multiply each element by the number of times
it is present in the set.

The formula for calculating weighted average =

!! !! !!! !! !!! !! !...! !! !!

!

Where, any element Ei is present ni times, and n is the total number of elements
present in the set, n = n1+n2+n3+.+ni

Lets look at some examples to understand it better.

Example: The grades of Amit are given in the table below. Also given are the
weights for each subject. Calculate his CGPA out of 10.

Subject
Weight
Grade
Maths
4
A
English
3
C
Science
3
A
Social Sciences
2
D
Physical Education
2
E
Grades: A = 10, B = 8, C = 6, D = 4, E = 2, F = 0

For calculating the CGPA, we need to find the average grade for all these 5
subjects. Since the weights of all subjects is different, we need to calculate the
weighted average.

CGPA =

!" ! !" ! !" ! !" ! !"

!!!!!!!!!

Now put in the values of grades,

CGPA = (40+18+30+8+4)/14 = 100/14 = 7.14

Example: There are two sections in class Vth of a school. The average weight of
section A is 50, and the average weight of section B is 60. If the average weight of
both sections is 53, find the ratio of students in the sections.

Let the number of students be A and B.
By the formula of weighted average:

!"#!!"#
!!!

= 53

50A + 60B = 53A + 53B

3A = 7B
A:B = 7:3
Therefore, the ratio of students in section A and B is 7:3.

Example: A shopkeeper mixes 200gm of cheaper rice in 800gm of highest quality
rice. The price at which he buys both is Rs. 100/kg and Rs. 400/kg respectively.
If he sells the mixture for Rs. 400, find the profit per kg for the shopkeeper ?

Since they are in different quantities, cost is the weighted average of both.
Effective cost for one kg = 1000.2 + 4000.8 = 340
Therefore, effective cost = 340
Profit = 400 340 = Rs.60/kg

Example: The revenue of a GMAT preparation institute is 30% offline, and 70%
online. The institute increases its fee by 30% and 20% for offline and online
courses respectively. Find the increase in revenue if the number of students
dont change.

Let the initial revenue be x,
Revenue from offline courses = 0.3x, Revenue from online courses = 0.7x
After 30% increase, revenue from offline coures = 0.39x

After 20% increase, revenue from online courses = 0.84x

New revenue = 1.23x
Therefore, increase in revenue is 23%.

8.3 Average of Ratios

While dealing in absolute quantities like marks scored, runs made, weight of
students, we calculate averages in the normal way, while in other cases we use
the concept of weighted average.

However, while dealing with ratios, neither is applicable. Ratios such as speed,
percentile, density, average cant be calculated by the usual method of averages.
Speed is not an absolute quantity in itself. It is the ratio of distance travelled to
time taken.

Lets take the example of speed.

Example: A man went to his office at 20kmph and returned at 12kmph. What is
his average speed ?

Incorrect Method: Average speed = (20+12)/2 = 16kmph.
Since speed is a ratio of Distance and Time, we cant find the average speed this
way.

Correct Method: When finding the average speed (or any other ratio), we find the
total distance and the total time and divide them to get the average speed.

Let the distance to office be 60km (LCM of 20 and 12).
Total distance = 120km
Time taken = 3 hours to go to office + 5 hours to return = 8 hours
Therefore, average speed = Total distance/Total time = 15 kmph

I have so often seen students make errors while calculating average speed,
average density, in an exam when they are under pressure to solve problems
quickly. It is thus necessary to keep it always in mind.

Example: In his GMAT exam, which had two sections, a candidate scored 80%
marks and secured 96 percentile in Mathematics, while he scored 60% marks
and secured 65 percentile in English. Find his percentage marks and his
percentile.

Percentage = Total marks secured/Maximum Marks
This is a ratio.
Since we are not given the maximum marks for both sections, we cant calculate
either the numerator (total marks secured) or the denominator (maximum
marks).
Therefore, we cant determine his percentage marks.

Percentile = His rank/Total number of candidates appearing in the exam.

We are again not given either of the two.

Therefore, his percentile cant be determined either.

Example: To make an alloy of brass, one part of copper is used with density
almost 9g/cm3, and another part of zinc is used with density almost 7.1g/cm3.
Find the density of the alloy.

Density = Mass/Volume
Density of the alloy = Total mass/Total volume
In this problem we are not given whether the parts are equal in mass or volume.
Therefore, we cant determine the total mass or the total volume.
Hence, the density of the alloy cant be determined.

8.4 Mean, Median, Mode

Mean

We already know the Mean for a set of numbers. The average for a set of
numbers is its mean.

So, the mean for 8, 9, 10, 11 = (8+9+10+11)/4

Mode

Mode is that number with the highest frequency. You can remember Mode by
rhyming it with most, mode is the number with most number of occurences.

Find the mode for this set {1,2,3,3,4,5,5,5,5,6,6,7}.

The number with the most occurences is 5 4 times.

Median

If you arrange all the numbers in a given set of numbers in ascending or
descending order, the number lying midway is the median. You can remember
median by rhyming it with mid, number lying in the mid is your median.

Find the median for this set {7,2,1,6,7,3,8,3,3,5,4}

Arrange them 1,2,3,3,3,4,5,6,7,7,8
There are 11 numbers number at the 6th place is the median.
At 6th place is 4, the median.

Case of Even Number of terms

Suppose there are four terms in a set 1, 3, 5, 7.

Mean is the usual average = (1+3+5+7)/4 = 4
Mode all numbers are present once, so there is no mode.

Median The two numbers lying midway are 3 and 5. When there are two
numbers lying midway, median is the average of those two numbers.
Median = (3+5)/2 = 4

Example: Find the mean, mode and median for {1,2,3,4,5,6,6,6,7,7}

Mean = (1+2+3+4+5+6+6+6+7+7)/10 = 4.7
Mode = 6 (3 times)
Median = Average of 5 and 6 = 5.5

SOLVED EXERCISES

1. A manufacturer has 200 litres of acid solution which has 15% acid
content. How many litres L of acid solution with 30% acid content may
be added so that acid content in the resulting mixture will be more than
20% but less than 25% ?
a. 100<L<300
b. 120<L<400
c. 100<L<400
d. 120<L<300
e. 150<L<350

The total solution after adding acid is 200+L.
The total acid is 30+0.3L
We can make two equations,
(30+0.3L)/(200+L) > 0.2 (1)
(30+0.3L)/(200+L) < 0.25 (2)
From (1), L > 100
From (2), L < 400

2. Total expenses of a boarding house are partly fixed and partly varying
linearly with the number of boarders. The average expense per boarder is
Rs. 700 when there are 25 boarders and Rs. 600 when there are 50
boarders. What is the average expense (in Rs.) per boarder when there
are 100 boarders ?
a. 550

b. 580

c. 540

d. 570
e. 575

Let the expense be ax+b, b being the fixed cost and ax being the variable cost.
70025 = 25a + b (1)
60050 = 50a + b (2)
From the equations (1) and (2), a = 500 and b = 5000
When there are 100 boarders, total cost = 500100 + 5000 = 55000
Average cost = 550

3. A teacher noticed a strange distribution of marks in the exam. There were
only three distinct scores: 6, 8, 20. The mode of the distribution was 8.
The sum of the scores of all the students was 504. The number of students
in the most populated category was equal to the sum of the number of
students with lowest score and twice the number of students with the
highest score. The total number of students in the class was:
a. 50

b. 51

c. 53

d. 57
e. 60

Let the number of students with 6, 8, 20 be a,b,c respectively.

=> 6a+8b+20c = 504
Also, b = a+2c, lets put it in the above equation.
14a+36c = 504
18c = 7(36a)
In the RHS, since 7 is a prime number, and the RHS is divisible by 18, the factor of
18 can only be through (36a).

 36a = 18
a = 18, c = 7, b = 32
Therefore, total number of students = 18+32+7 = 57

4. The mean of six positive integers is 15. The median is 18, and the only
mode of the integers is less than 18. What is the maximum possible value
of the largest of the six integers ?
a. 26

b. 28

c. 30

d. 32
e. 33

Sum of the 6 numbers = 156 = 90

Lets arrange the numbers in ascending order 1st numbers smallest
The average of 3rd and 4th numbers is the median = 18.
=> Sum of 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th numbers = 54.
Now, for maximizing the largest number, lets minimize all the other numbers by
also satisfying the conditions given.
Let the smallest 2 numbers be 1 (so the mode is 1)
Since the average of the 3rd and 4th numbers = 18, let them be 17 and 19.
Let the 5th number be just greater than 19, i.e. 20.
Since 1st + 2nd + 3rd + 4th = 54,
Therefore, 6th number = 54 1 1 20 = 32

5. The cost of diamond varies directly as the square of its weight. Once, this
diamond broke into four pieces with weights in the ratio 1:2:3:4. When
the pieces were sold, the merchant got Rs. 70,000 less. Find the original
price of the diamond.
a. Rs. 1.4 lakh
b. Rs. 2 lakh
c. Rs. 1 lakh
d. Rs. 2.1 lakh
e. Rs. 1.5 lakh

Let the weight of the diamond piece be 10kg.
Therefore, price = 100k, where k is a constant.
After breaking into ratio of 1:2:3:4, price = 1k+4k+9k+16k = 30k.
100k30k = 70,000
k = 1000
Therefore, price = 1001000 = 1lakh

6. If

!!!
!

!!!
!

!!!
!

= k, then what is k ?

a. 1

b. 1
e. 1 or 1

Cross multiplying,
p+q = kr, q+r = kp, p+r = kq
2(p+q+r) = k(p+q+r)
(2k)(p+q+r) = 0
k = 2 or p+q+r = 0
If p+q+r = 0, k = 1
Therefore, k = 1 or 2

c. 2

d. 1 or 2

EXERCISES

1. A milkman adds 15 litres of water to 60 litres of milk. After selling 1/4th of

mixture, he adds water to cover up the quantity sold. What is the current
proportion ?
a. 3:4

b. 2:3

c. 1:2

d. 1:3
e. 1:4

2. The average of 38, 84, 63, 45, 32 and n lies between 50 and 60. If n is an
integer greater than the average of the above numbers, then what is the
range of n ?
a. 6876

b. 5397

c. 8597

d. 7189
e. 5482

3. The composition of mixture A is 35% milk and 65% water. The mixture B
is pure milk. In what ratio should A and B be mixed to get 56% milk ?
a. 37:18

b. 44:21

c. 11:14

d. 13:16
e. 3:4

4. A student scored 42% in maths, 32% in science, 54% in english. Find his
percentage ?
a. 42.66%

b. 45%

c. 44.33%
d. 42%
e. None

5. There are two blocks of metal A with density 3g/cm3 and one block of
metal B with density 2g/cm3. They are melted and solidified as one. What
is the average density of the alloy?
a. 2.66g/cm3
b. 2.5g/cm3
c. 2.33g/cm3
d. 2.8g/cm3
e. Cant be determined

6. There are two rods of density 2g/cm3 and 3g/cm3. The masses of these
rods is 6kg and 15 kg. These rods are melted and solidified as one. What is
the density of the new rod formed ?
a. 2.625g/cm3
b. 2.5g/cm3
c. 2.66g/cm3
d. 2.8g/cm3
e. Cant be determined

7. A person travels from his home to office on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
at speeds a, b, c. What is his average speed ?
!!!!!

a.
c.

!"#
(!"!!"!!")
!"!!"!!"

e.

(!!!!!)

!"#$

b.

d.

(!"!!"!!")
!! !!! !!!
(!!!!!)

8. What is the average of the squares of the first twenty natural numbers ?
a. 142

b. 143.5

c. 135

d. 125
e. 121

9. For a set of four numbers, the average of the lowest three is 30, the
average of the biggest three is 35. What is the difference of the maximum
and minimum average possible of the four numbers ?
a. 2.5

b. 3.75

d. 5

d. 4.5
e. 3.5

10. The average of a batsman is 34 for the year 2005, 38 for the year 2006, 36
for the year 2007, 44 for the years 2008 and 2009. What is his average ?
a. 38

b. 41

c. 39.2

d. 40
e. Cant be determined

11. S is a set of 20 differerent integers. What are the maximum number of
terms in S that can be lesser than the average ?
a. 9

b. 10

c. 11

d. 19
e. 15

12. For a set of five positive integers, mean and median are 5, the only mode
is 8. Which of these options is the sum of the lowest and highest numbers
in the set ?
a. 9

b. 10

c. 11

d. 12
e. 8

13. We have two mixtures of milk and water, containing a% milk and b% milk
respectively. 1 unit of a% milk is mixed with 3 units of b% milk. The
resulting mixture has 60% milk. If a > b, how many integer values can a
take ?
a. 13

b. 16

c. 19

d. 20
e. 12

14. There is a sequence of 7 consecutive integers. The average of first 5
consecutive integers is n. What is the average of 7 consecutive integers ?
a. n

b. n+1

c. n+(2/7)
d. n+(1/7)
e. n+2

15. Rajiv calculates his cumulative average after every test. QT and OB were
his last two tests. 83 marks in QT increased his average by 2 marks, and
75 marks in OB further increased his average by 1. If he gets 51 in his next
test his average will be ?
a. 60

b. 61

c. 62

d. 63
e. 64

16. Sumit works as a state contractor for PWD and supplies bitumen mix for
road construction. He has two varieties of bitumen, one at Rs. 42 per kg,
and the other at Rs. 25 per kg. How many kg of first variety must Sumit
mix with 25kg of second variety, so that he may, on selling the mixture at
40/kg, gain 25% on the outlay ?
a. 30

b. 20

c. 25

d. 24
e. None

17. A petrol tank at a filling station has a capcacity of 400 litres. The attendant
sells 40 litres of petrol from the tank to one customer and then
replenishes it with Kerosene oil. The process is repeated with six
customers. What quantity of pure petrol will the seventh customer get
when he purchases 40 litres of petrol ?
a. 20.5l

b. 21.25l

c. 24.75l

d. 22.4l
e. None

18. In a computer training center, there are three sections A, B, C. It is found
that the sum of ages of all students is 2160, their average age is 36. The
average age of A and B is 39, the average age of B and C is 360/11, the
average age of A and C is 110/3. Had each student in section A been 1
year older, each student in section B been 6 years older, each student in
section C been 7 years older, then their average age would increase by 5
years. What is the number of students in each section and the average age
of each section ?
a. (16, 24, 20 : 45, 35, 30 years)

b. (18, 24, 18 : 42, 38, 30 years)
c. (16, 20, 24 : 50, 30, 30 years)

d. (15, 22, 23 : 45, 30, 28 years)
e. None

19. The ratio of metal 1 and metal 2 in alloy A is 3:4. In alloy B same metals
are mixed in the ratio 5:8. If 26kg of alloy B and 14 kg of alloy A are mixed,
what is the ratio of metal 1 and metal 2 in the new alloy ?
a. 3:2

b. 2:5

c. 2:3

d. 1:2
e. None

20. The expenses of a trimester are currently partly fixed and partly varying
linearly with the number of students. The average expense per student is
Rs. 400 when there are 20 students and Rs. 300 when there are 40
students. What is the average expense per student for 80 students?
a. Rs. 250

b. Rs. 300

c. Rs. 330

d. Rs. 350
e. Rs. 280

21. A 10 litre cylinder contains a mixture of water and sugar, the volume of
sugar being 15% of total volume. A few litres of the mixture is released
and equal amount of water is added. Then the same amount of the
mixture as before is released and replaced with for the second time. As a
result, the sugar content becomes 10% of total volume. What is the
approximate quantity of mixture released each time ?
a. 1l

b. 1.25l

c. 1.5l

d. 2l
e. 2.5l

22. A milk vendor soils 10 litre of milk from a can containing 40 litres of pure
milk to the first customer. He then adds 10 litres of water to the milk can.
Again he sells 10 litres of mixture to the 3rd customer and then adds 10
litres of mixture to the can and so on. What amount of pure milk will the
5th customer receive ?
a. 510/128l
b. 505/128l
c. 405/128l
d. 3l
e. 400/105l

ANSWERS AND HINTS

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
b
b
b
b
d
d
a
b
b
a
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
d
d
a
a
b
d
d
d
c
b
21
22
23
24
25





a
c
a
d
c






2. The average of the set is (262+n)/6
n > 262/5
Also, n < 360 262
53 n 97

4. Weight of the class after m students join = 40x40 + m(50m) = 1600+50mm2
Avg. weight = (1600+50mm2)/(40+m)
Differentiate with respect to m, and equate to 0.

5. Maximum marks for each subject are not given.

6. It is not given whether the two blocks are equal by volume or mass.

10. Let the numbers be a, b, c, d.
=> a+b+c = 90
=> b+c+d = 105
So, d = a+ 15
For highest average, fix a = 30, and get d = 45
For lowest average, fix d = 35, and get a = 20

11. Average is the ratio of runs scored/innings in which the batsman has been
dismissed.
The values for these two have not been given.

12. Let the integers be 0,1,2,3,4,.,17,18, 10000.
The average of these numbers is a relatively large number because of 10,000.
19 out of the 20 numbers can be smaller than the average.

13. Let the numbers be a,b,c,d,e in increasing order.
=> c = 5, and d = e = 8
Highest number = 8, lowest number can be 1.
Sum = 9

14. Since the mixture has 60% milk, therefore one of them must have higher than
60% milk, and the other must have lower than 60% milk.
If both had more than 60% milk, the resulting mixture would have more than
60% milk.
a > 60 > b
Now, a + 3b = 60x4

 a + 3b = 240
Since 100 > a > 60, and 0 < b < 60, solve for integral values of a.

20. After first customer: Petrol will be 90% of the original.
After second customer: Petrol will be 90% of the amount after first customer.
Therefore, amount of petrol after N customers =
Petrol remaining after 6th customer =
Seventh customer receives 21.25l

!
!"
!

400

400 = 212.5l

!"

21. Quickest way is to check the options.

24. Let the amount released be x litres.

=> Percentage of sugar content after first release =

!"

!""

=> Percentage of sugar content after second release =

=>

!"
!""

!
!"

1
!"

!""

!"
!""

!
!"

Solving, x = 2l

25. The amount of milk decreases by factor of everytime.
The first customer gets 10l milk.
However, the second customer gets 10
Therefore, the fifth customer gets 10

!
! !
!

l milk and so on
!"#

= !"#

!
!"