The geometric mean, in mathematics, is a type of mean or average, which indicates the central tendency or typical value of a set of numbers. It is similar to the arithmetic mean, which is what most people think of with the word "average," except that instead of adding the set of numbers and then dividing the sum by the count of numbers in the set, n, the numbers are multiplied and then the nth root of the resulting product is taken.
For instance,...
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The geometric mean, in mathematics, is a type of mean or average, which indicates the central tendency or typical value of a set of numbers. It is similar to the arithmetic mean, which is what most people think of with the word "average," except that instead of adding the set of numbers and then dividing the sum by the count of numbers in the set, n, the numbers are multiplied and then the nth root of the resulting product is taken.
For instance, the geometric mean of two numbers, say 2 and 8, is just the square root (i.e., the second root) of their product which equals 4; that is √2 × 8 = 4. As another example, the geometric mean of three numbers 1, ½, ¼ is the cube root (i.e., the third root) of their product (0.125), which is 1/2; that is √1 × ½ × ¼ = ½ .
The geometric mean can also be understood in terms of geometry. The geometric mean of two numbers, a and b, is the length of one side of a square whose area is equal to the area of a rectangle with sides of lengths a and b. That...
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