Question

math mini lesson
the activity on pages 381 - 387 of your textbook asks you to calculate the mean tidal range for port canaveral for march 2010. mean is another word for average. it is a mathematical measure used to describe the middle or expected value in a set of data.
study the formula below. then answer the questions that follow to review finding means.
to find the mean of a set of values, use this formula:
mean=\frac{sum of the values}{the total number of values}

1. finding the mean tidal range for port canaveral for the month of march requires several steps. first you must find the mean of the high tides. describe the process for doing this first step.
2. what is the total number of values you will divide by?

hint: look carefully at the table on page 385 of your textbook. notice that not every day has two high tides.

1. what must you find next? describe the process.
2. what is the total number of values you will divide by?
3. describe what you must do for the last step (finding the port canaveral mean tidal range).

now that you have identified the steps for determining mean tidal range, complete step 7 on page 387 of your textbook.
lesson 19 marine science: the dynamic ocean study module

Explanation:

Step1: Answer to question 1

Add up all the high - tide values. Then divide by the number of high - tide values.

Step2: Answer to question 2

Count the number of high - tide values from the table on page 385. The answer depends on the actual data in the table, but it's the number of individual high - tide measurements.

Step3: Answer to question 3

After finding the mean of high tides, find the mean of low tides. Add up all the low - tide values and divide by the number of low - tide values.

Step4: Answer to question 4

Count the number of low - tide values from the table on page 385. The answer depends on the actual data in the table, but it's the number of individual low - tide measurements.

Step5: Answer to question 5

Find the difference between the mean of high tides and the mean of low tides. This difference is the Port Canaveral mean tidal range.

Answer:

1. Add up high - tide values and divide by number of high - tide values.
2. Number of high - tide values from table.
3. Find mean of low tides by adding low - tide values and dividing by number of low - tide values.
4. Number of low - tide values from table.
5. Subtract mean of low tides from mean of high tides.