Find the mean of the data summarized in the given frequency distribution. Compare the computed mean to the actual mean of 52.8 degrees.

| Low Temperature (°F) | 40-44 | 45-49 | 50-54 | 55-59 | 60-64 |
|----------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
| Frequency | 1 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 1 |

The mean of the frequency distribution is ______ degrees.
(Round to the nearest tenth as needed.)

Answer :

To find the mean of the given frequency distribution, we follow these steps:

1. Determine the midpoints of each temperature interval:

Each temperature interval is given as:
[tex]\(40-44\)[/tex]
[tex]\(45-49\)[/tex]
[tex]\(50-54\)[/tex]
[tex]\(55-59\)[/tex]
* [tex]\(60-64\)[/tex]

The midpoints are calculated by averaging the endpoints of each interval. Therefore:
[tex]\[ \begin{align*} \text{Midpoint of } 40-44 &: \frac{40 + 44}{2} = 42 \\ \text{Midpoint of } 45-49 &: \frac{45 + 49}{2} = 47 \\ \text{Midpoint of } 50-54 &: \frac{50 + 54}{2} = 52 \\ \text{Midpoint of } 55-59 &: \frac{55 + 59}{2} = 57 \\ \text{Midpoint of } 60-64 &: \frac{60 + 64}{2} = 62 \\ \end{align*} \][/tex]

2. List the frequencies corresponding to each interval:

The given frequencies are:
[tex]\( f_1 = 1 \)[/tex] for [tex]\(40-44\)[/tex]
[tex]\( f_2 = 4 \)[/tex] for [tex]\(45-49\)[/tex]
[tex]\( f_3 = 9 \)[/tex] for [tex]\(50-54\)[/tex]
[tex]\( f_4 = 7 \)[/tex] for [tex]\(55-59\)[/tex]
* [tex]\( f_5 = 1 \)[/tex] for [tex]\(60-64\)[/tex]

3. Compute the product of each midpoint and its corresponding frequency:

[tex]\[ \begin{align*} 42 \times 1 &= 42 \\ 47 \times 4 &= 188 \\ 52 \times 9 &= 468 \\ 57 \times 7 &= 399 \\ 62 \times 1 &= 62 \\ \end{align*} \][/tex]

4. Sum the frequencies and sum the products of midpoints and frequencies:

The sum of frequencies ([tex]\(\Sigma f\)[/tex]) is:
[tex]\[ 1 + 4 + 9 + 7 + 1 = 22 \][/tex]

The sum of the products ([tex]\(\Sigma (f \cdot x)\)[/tex]) is:
[tex]\[ 42 + 188 + 468 + 399 + 62 = 1159 \][/tex]

5. Calculate the mean ([tex]\(\mu\)[/tex]) using the formula for the mean of grouped data:

[tex]\[ \text{Mean} = \frac{\Sigma (f \cdot x)}{\Sigma f} = \frac{1159}{22} \approx 52.68 \][/tex]

6. Round the mean to the nearest tenth:

[tex]\[ \text{Mean} \approx 52.7 \][/tex]

So, the mean of the frequency distribution is [tex]\( 52.7 \)[/tex] degrees.

Comparing this computed mean to the actual mean of 52.8 degrees, the values are very close, showing that the calculation is accurate.

Thus, the mean of the frequency distribution is
[tex]\[ \boxed{52.7} \text{ degrees (rounded to the nearest tenth).} \][/tex]