Find the mean of the first five whole numbers

Answer

To find the mean of the first five whole numbers, we will follow these steps:

### Step 1: Identify the first five whole numbers.
The first five whole numbers are:
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4

### Step 2: Write down the formula for the mean.
The formula for calculating the mean is:
\[ \text{Mean} = \frac{\text{Sum of observations}}{\text{Total number of observations}} \]

### Step 3: Calculate the sum of the first five whole numbers.
Now, we will add the first five whole numbers together:
\[ 0 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 \]
Calculating this step-by-step:
- \(0 + 1 = 1\)
- \(1 + 2 = 3\)
- \(3 + 3 = 6\)
- \(6 + 4 = 10\)

So, the sum of the first five whole numbers is \(10\).

### Step 4: Determine the total number of observations.
The total number of observations (the first five whole numbers) is \(5\).

### Step 5: Substitute the values into the mean formula.
Now we can substitute the sum and the total number of observations into the mean formula:
\[ \text{Mean} = \frac{10}{5} \]

### Step 6: Calculate the mean.
Now we perform the division:
\[ \frac{10}{5} = 2 \]

### Final Answer:
The mean of the first five whole numbers is \(2\).

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