Python Program to Find Average of a List

1. Introduction

Calculating the average of a list of numbers is a common operation in various fields, including statistics, education, and data analysis. Python provides a straightforward way to accomplish this task, which is often essential for understanding trends and making decisions.

Definition

The average, or mean, of a list is calculated by summing all the elements in the list and then dividing that total by the number of elements.

2. Program Steps

1. Define a list of numerical values.

2. Compute the sum of all elements in the list.

3. Divide the total sum by the count of the elements in the list to find the average.

4. Print the computed average.

3. Code Program

# Step 1: Define a list of numbers
numbers = [2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12]

# Step 2: Calculate the sum of the list
total_sum = sum(numbers)

# Step 3: Find the count of numbers in the list
number_count = len(numbers)

# Calculate the average
average = total_sum / number_count

# Step 4: Print the average
print(f"The average of the list is: {average}")

Output:

The average of the list is: 7.0

Explanation:

1. numbers is a list containing six integers.

2. total_sum is calculated using the built-in sum() function, which adds up all elements in numbers.

3. number_count is obtained by the len() function, which counts the number of elements in numbers.

4. The average is computed as total_sum divided by number_count.

5. The final print statement outputs the computed average using an f-string to insert the calculated value into the message, showing that the average is 7.0.