Chapter 10 Math 285
Check Your Understanding
Solve for x.
1. 5x – 5 = 20
2. x + 30 = 50
3. 5x = 100
4. 400 × 5 = 2x
5. 20x – 20 = 400
Data Analysis
The healthcare world produces a wealth of information each day.
Hospitals need to keep track of inventory to maintain all vital supplies,
pharmacies need to be aware of the drugs they have on hand, and health
departments need to analyze rates of contagious disease outbreaks such as
infl uenza and venereal disease.
Information like this is commonly stored in databases and spread-
sheets and presented in charts and graphs. Charts and graphs allow for
analysis of large amounts of information. This analysis is necessary to fully
understand the subjects and themes of the information. A common way
of analyzing information is the use of basic statistical methods, which are
mean, median, and mode.
Mean, Median, and Mode
The statistical tools of mean, median, and mode are three ways of ana-
lyzing data. Each of these statistical tools will help you fi nd a different type
of average. To fi nd the mean, total all numbers in your information and
divide the result by the quantity of numbers you have been given.
Example: Lori decides to calculate how much she spent taking
her beagle to the veterinarian in the past year. Her charges are
listed in Figure 10.10.
After adding up the total of each bill, Lori determines she spent $795.00
on vet bills last year. Now she wants to know what the mean amount was
for each visit. To calculate the mean, take the total Lori has paid ($795) and
then divide by the number of visits (5).
$795
= $159
5
Using Algebra to Calculate Vacation Days
Judy works in the Human Resources Department of Eastridge Hospital.
She is told to calculate how many vacation days will be given to new, full-time
employees in one year if the employee earns one-and-a-half vacation days
every two months. How would you set up an algebraic equation for this calcu-
lation? How many vacation days would the employee earn per year?
Real Life Scenario
mean
mathematical average of
data