Calculate Mean From N Inputs in C

How to Calculate Mean in C

To calculate the mean of n numbers in C, follow these steps:

1. Declare an array to store the input numbers.
2. Prompt the user to enter the numbers.
3. Sum all the numbers in the array.
4. Divide the sum by the count of numbers to get the mean.
5. Display the result.

The C code implementation typically uses a loop to collect inputs and another loop to calculate the sum. Here's a basic example:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int n, i;
    float sum = 0, mean;

    printf("Enter the number of elements: ");
    scanf("%d", &n);

    float numbers[n];

    for(i = 0; i < n; i++) {
        printf("Enter number %d: ", i+1);
        scanf("%f", &numbers[i]);
        sum += numbers[i];
    }

    mean = sum / n;
    printf("Mean = %.2f", mean);

    return 0;
}

Mean Formula

The mean (average) of a set of numbers is calculated using this formula:

Where:

• Sum of all numbers - The total of all values added together
• Count of numbers - The total number of values in the set

Worked Example

Let's calculate the mean of these five numbers: 12, 15, 18, 20, 25.

1. Sum = 12 + 15 + 18 + 20 + 25 = 90
2. Count = 5
3. Mean = 90 / 5 = 18

The mean of these numbers is 18.