The mean of first seventeen whole numbers is

Options

A. 4
B. 6
C. 8
D. None of these

Answer

To find the mean of the first seventeen whole numbers, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Identify the first seventeen whole numbers.
The first seventeen whole numbers starting from 0 are:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

### Step 2: Calculate the sum of these numbers.
To find the sum of the numbers, we can add them together:
\[ 0 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 + 16 \]

Alternatively, we can use the formula for the sum of the first \( n \) whole numbers:
\[ \text{Sum} = \frac{n(n + 1)}{2} \]
where \( n \) is the last whole number in our case, which is 16.

So,
\[ \text{Sum} = \frac{16(16 + 1)}{2} = \frac{16 \times 17}{2} = \frac{272}{2} = 136 \]

### Step 3: Count the total number of observations.
The total number of observations (whole numbers) is 17.

### Step 4: Calculate the mean.
The formula for the mean is:
\[ \text{Mean} = \frac{\text{Sum of observations}}{\text{Total number of observations}} \]
Substituting the values we have:
\[ \text{Mean} = \frac{136}{17} \]

### Step 5: Perform the division.
Now, we divide 136 by 17:
\[ \text{Mean} = 8 \]

### Final Answer:
The mean of the first seventeen whole numbers is **8**.

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