Edexcel IGCSE Physics Arithmetic Mean
Practise Edexcel IGCSE Physics arithmetic mean calculations by averaging repeated time readings and rounding the answer correctly.
- Syllabus
- Issue 4 (2024)
- Course
- Physics 4PH1
Practise Edexcel IGCSE Physics arithmetic mean calculations by averaging repeated time readings and rounding the answer correctly.
Two students do an experiment to determine their power when running up a set of steps.
The diagram shows how they set up their experiment. Not all of the steps are shown in the diagram.

This is the students' method.
- student A stands with a stopwatch at the top of the steps
- student A starts timing on the stopwatch and shouts "go" at the same time
- student B begins to run up the steps when she hears student A shout
- student A stops timing when student B reaches the top of the steps
The students repeat their method two more times.
There are 24 steps in total and each step has a height of 19 cm .
The table shows the times recorded for student B.

Calculate the mean time from this data.
Give your answer to three significant figures.
- evaluation of mean
- rounded to 3 significant figures
Example:
- mean time = (4.28 + 4.95 + 4.65) / 3 = 4.626...
- mean time = 4.63 s
Marking guidance:
- Rounding to 3 significant figures is an independent mark.