# Average Questions for Bank Exams | Free Timed Practice > Practise average questions free and timed for IBPS, SBI, SSC and railway prelims. The total-first method, fresh questions every time, and worked solutions. Source: https://computeprep.com/drill-types/averages --- Exam path · Averages ## Average questions, done through the total Average questions are solved through the total, not the mean. Multiply the average by the count to recover the sum, do the addition or subtraction the question actually asks about, then divide once at the end. Almost every average question in a bank paper — a missing number, a changed average, a replaced member — is that same three-step move with different words around it. Averages carry one to two marks directly and sit underneath data interpretation, where a sloppy mean costs a whole set. Search interest in this topic is up 175% year on year, which tracks how often it now appears. It is also the fastest topic on the paper once the total-first habit is in place: the drill below gives you 30 seconds on medium, and that is generous when you stop trying to average the averages. **Try it against the clock.** Averages runs at 20s easy, 30s medium and 40s hard. The clock is stamped and judged on our server, so the limit you see is the deadline that is actually enforced — and it starts when you tap Start, not while the question is loading. [Start a timed Averages drill →](https://computeprep.com/?drill=averages&src=seo-averages) ### How to solve average questions through the total - Recover the total first Average × count = total. Eight numbers averaging 43 sum to 344. Nothing else in the question can be done safely until that number is on the table. - Do the question's actual arithmetic on the total A missing value is total minus the part you were given (344 − 313 = 31). A new member added is total plus that member, over count plus one. Every variant is an addition or a subtraction, on the total. - Divide once, at the end Dividing early creates decimals that then have to be carried through the rest of the question. One division at the end is both faster and where the arithmetic errors stop happening. - Use the change-in-average shortcut where it fits If adding one member changes the mean by *d* across *n+1* members, that member is the old average plus *d* × (n+1). Worth knowing, because the setter times these expecting you to do it the long way. ### Four shapes of the same question | What the paper asks | The move | | --- | --- | | Find the missing number | Total minus the sum of the rest | | A new member joins and the average rises by d | New member = old average + d × (new count) | | One member is replaced | Change in total = change in average × count | | Average of the first n and the last n overlap | Add both totals, subtract the whole, and the overlap is left | ### 3 real average questions, with worked solutions Generated by the same engine that mints the ComputePrep daily. Each answer is computed from the numbers printed in the question, and the walkthrough below each one is the engine's own working — not a solution written afterwards. Reload this page's live drill and you get different numbers. #### Question 1 The average of 7 numbers is 51. The other 6 of them add up to 302. What is the remaining number? Averages — total and mean, no paper. - 55 - 41 - 51 - 357 - 45 - All 7 together: 7 × 51 = 357. - Subtract the 6 you were given: 357 − 302 = 55. The remaining number is 55. #### Question 2 The average of 5 numbers is 49. The other 4 of them add up to 180. What is the remaining number? Averages — total and mean, no paper. - 180 - 245 - 49 - 65 - 196 - All 5 together: 5 × 49 = 245. - Subtract the 4 you were given: 245 − 180 = 65. The remaining number is 65. #### Question 3 The average of 9 numbers is 35. The other 8 of them add up to 274. What is the remaining number? Averages — total and mean, no paper. - 280 - 274 - 41 - 35 - 315 - All 9 together: 9 × 35 = 315. - Subtract the 8 you were given: 315 − 274 = 41. The remaining number is 41. ### Common mistakes this drill is built from The wrong options are not random numbers. Each one is the result of a specific careless error for this topic, so picking one tells you which habit is costing you marks. #### Averaging the averages The mean of two groups is not the mean of their means unless the groups are the same size. The unweighted answer is always an option, and it is right often enough by coincidence to feel safe. #### Dividing before you have finished Divide early and you carry a decimal through three more steps. Keep everything as a total until the final line. #### Losing the count when a member joins or leaves Adding one member changes both the total and the denominator. Forgetting the second half is the classic near-miss, and it produces an answer that is close enough to look plausible. ### Why your answer came out wrong The specific wrong numbers this topic produces, and what each one tells you about the step you took. If you have just got a question wrong and want to know which habit did it, start here. #### Why can't I average two averages to get the combined average? Because the groups are different sizes. Forty students averaging 60 and ten averaging 80 do not give 70; the combined average is (40 × 60 + 10 × 80) ÷ 50 = 64. The plain average of the averages is only correct when the two groups have exactly the same count. Go back to totals every time. #### One value in a set of ten was misread as 20 instead of 40 — how much does the average move? By 2, not by 20. The total is short by 20 and the average is short by 20 ÷ 10. Corrections to an average are always divided by the count, which is why a single misread digit shifts it so little — and why the uncorrected 20 is printed as an option. #### Why does my answer break when someone joins or leaves the group? Because the divisor changed and you kept the old one. Adding a member makes the count n + 1, removing one makes it n − 1, and the new total has to be divided by the new count. Write down the new total and the new count as two separate numbers before you divide. ### FAQ #### What is the fastest way to solve average questions? Convert the average into a total immediately by multiplying by the count, do the addition or subtraction on that total, and divide only once at the end. It removes decimals from the middle of the working, which is where the errors happen. #### How much time do average questions get in a bank exam? They are among the quickest arithmetic questions on the paper. This drill allows 20 seconds on easy, 30 on medium and 40 on hard, enforced on the server. #### Can I average two averages together? Only if both groups have the same number of members. Otherwise you must weight each average by its count, which in practice means going back to totals and adding those. #### Do average questions appear in data interpretation too? Constantly. A table or caselet set will typically include at least one average across a row or a column, so speed here pays twice: once in arithmetic and once in DI. ### Practise the next topic - [All 23 drill types](https://computeprep.com/drill-types) — the full rotation with every published time limit. - [Percentage questions for bank exam papers](https://computeprep.com/drill-types/percentages) — percentage questions for bank exam, timed. - [Profit and loss questions](https://computeprep.com/drill-types/profit-loss) — profit and loss questions, timed. - [Vedic maths shortcuts](https://computeprep.com/vedic-maths) — the seven sutras that make a 15-second answer possible. - [How to improve calculation speed](https://computeprep.com/calculation-speed) — the six-week arc these drills fit into. ComputePrep is free, needs no account, and is not affiliated with IBPS, SBI, SSC, RRB or any exam authority.