what is the difference between average and mean

The terms "average" and "mean" are often used interchangeably in everyday language, but they can have distinct meanings in statistics. 1. **Mean**: This is a specific type of average. The mean is calculated by adding up all the values in a data set and then dividing by the number of values. For example, for the numbers 2, 3, and 5, the mean would be (2 + 3 + 5) / 3 = 10 / 3 ≈ 3.33. 2. **Average**: This term is more general and can refer to several different measures of central tendency, including the mean, median, and mode. In some contexts, "average" might refer to the most common value (mode) or the middle value when the data set is sorted (median). In summary, while all means are averages, not all averages are means. It's important to clarify which type of average is being referred to in specific contexts.