Analyzing the Setup
You have a crime scene—a set of eight numbers: 3,7,9,12,13,20,x,y—and two clues: the mean and the variance. Your mission is to find the product of the two missing suspects, x and y.
The Mean
The Center of Gravity
The mean, xˉ=10, is your first clue. It tells you the 'center of gravity' of your data.
By summing all numbers, we set up the following equation:
This simplifies to 64+x+y=80, which gives us the first linear constraint:
The Variance
The Spread
The variance, σ2=25, is the second clue. It tells you how spread out the data is.
Using the computational formula σ2=n∑xi2−(xˉ)2, we calculate the sum of squares. Substituting the known values:
25=832+72+92+122+132+202+x2+y2−102
Calculating the sum of the known squares, we get 9+49+81+144+169+400=852. Substituting this back into the equation:
Adding 100 to both sides gives 125=8852+x2+y2. Multiplying by 8 yields 1000=852+x2+y2, which simplifies to:
The Algebraic Bridge
Now you have two powerful pieces of information: x+y=16 and x2+y2=148. You need to find the product xy.
The identity (x+y)2=x2+y2+2xy acts as your bridge. Substituting the known values:
This simplifies to 256=148+2xy. Solving for 2xy:
Finally, dividing by 2, we find the product of the suspects:
xy=54