Numeracy Skills

You have probably noted that, whilst offering a partially adequate account of how much the cat population has increased up until now (and here, it would seem that that the mean average is more suitable than the median) neither of the above methods is particularly useful for determining by how much we can expect this trend to continue.

This is because the increase appears to be exponential (growing at an increasing rate) rather than constant. You might have suggested, for example, that a more helpful way of doing this would be to plot the figures on a line or bar graph, or generate a set of percentage figures that would help us see an underlying pattern, and you would be right:

and here, if the current trend were to continue, we would expect the yearly increase to double, assuming there are no other factors such as lack of resources, feline cull, etc. to limit this growth.

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Quick Activity

Complete the Averages (part 2) Quiz to analyse the yearly decrease in the non-talking cats of Baal. 

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Before we move on from averages, here's a useful little rhyme to help you remember the different types: