To find the mean, Tanya and Irma tried to “even out” the towers so that they all had the same number of cubes.

  1. Even out your towers. (Hint: You can use only the cubes that are already in your towers and you must keep the same number of towers.)
  2. Now each tower has about the same number of cubes. This number is the mean. What is the mean?
After looking at their towers, Tanya and Irma try to decide what the mean number of cubes is.
  1. The median number of cubes in Tanya and Irma's towers was nine. Do you agree that nine cubes is a normal handful for Irma and Tanya? Why or why not?
  2. The mean number of cubes in the girls' towers was ten. Do you agree that this number can also describe a normal handful? Why or why not?
  3. Scientists use averages to make predictions. Predict the number of cubes Tanya or Irma would pull, if they pulled another handful.