SOLUTION: Hello, I'm in grade seven math and currently we are learning about algebra... I mostly understand the concept until we started with means. For example the teacher gave us a quest

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Question 956840: Hello,
I'm in grade seven math and currently we are learning about algebra... I mostly understand the concept until we started with means. For example the teacher gave us a question with 5 negative and positive numbers and a x... He told us that x is the mean of those 5 numbers but he wants us to figure it out using an algebraic equation. I am stumped on how to do this because how are we to find x if we do not have both sides of the question and how are we to create a equation if we do not know what x is...
Thank you very much if you answer this question
-Anna
Found 2 solutions by macston, josgarithmetic:
Answer by macston(5194) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let x= the mean of the five numbers
Let the five numbers be ,,,,
The mean is the same thing as the average: you add the numbers and then divide by the number of numbers you added. So we will add these five numbers and divide by 5.

Hope this helps.

Answer by josgarithmetic(39617) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Translate from description in English language about numbers into a number sentence with numbers, including variables.

Mean usually means "AVERAGE". You have a list of numbers and you want their average, and you want the average to be x.

You also know that your list of numbers has five items, so

If one of the items in your list is actually also x, then you have the same general statement, but now, the sum will INCLUDE x.

and you know what list you have, and you can decide how to isolate and find x.