What is the term for the average of a set of numerical values?

The average of a set of numerical values is referred to as the mean. To calculate the mean, you take the sum of all the values in the dataset and then divide that sum by the total number of values. This provides a single value that represents the central point of the data, giving a sense of the overall magnitude of the values.

For example, if you have the numbers 4, 5, and 6, you would add them up to get 15, and then divide by how many numbers there are, which is three. Therefore, 15 divided by 3 equals 5, making 5 the mean of that set.

The other terms listed refer to different statistical concepts: the median is the middle value when the numbers are arranged in order, the mode is the number that appears most frequently, and standard deviation measures the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values. Thus, understanding them in the context of their definitions helps clarify why mean is the correct choice when specifically referring to the average.