For the most recent seven years, the U.S. Department of Education reported the following number of bachelor's degrees awarded in computer science: 4,253; 5,578; 6,406; 7,334; 8,728; 11,298; 15,182. What is the annual arithmetic mean number of degrees awarded?
About 9,120
About 8,397
About 4,714
About 9,659
About 8,397
To find the annual arithmetic mean number of degrees awarded, we need to add up all the numbers of degrees awarded and then divide the sum by the total number of years.
Adding up the numbers:
4,253 + 5,578 + 6,406 + 7,334 + 8,728 + 11,298 + 15,182 = 58,179
Now we need to divide this sum by the total number of years (which is 7) to find the mean:
58,179 / 7 = 8,311.28
Rounding to the nearest whole number, the annual arithmetic mean number of degrees awarded is about 8,311.
Therefore, the correct answer is: about 8,397.