Primary 6 · Statistics

P6 average

In P6, your child finds an average as the total divided by the number of items, then runs it backwards: total = average × number. Most questions give the average and want something else.

Taught in: Term 3
Syllabus: 2 skills
Usual slip: Using the old count

Updated 12 October 2026

Four bags levelled to 12 kg each, 48 kg in all

What your child learns in P6 average

Two skills, each with what it looks like on a worksheet.

Follows the latest (2026) MOE syllabus

See the syllabus wording

average as ‘total value ÷ number of data’
relationship between average, total value and number of data

Average is total ÷ number

Add the values to get the total, then divide by how many there are. Four bags of 12, 16, 4 and 16 kg make 48 kg, so the average is 48 ÷ 4 = 12 kg.

Category	Mass (kg)
A	12
B	16
C	4
D	16

Four bags

Average, total and number

Any two give the third. Total = average × number, and number = total ÷ average. Most P6 questions give the average and want the total first.

Average	Number	Total
12 kg	4	48 kg

Any two give the third

Key facts and formulas

Term 3

Average $\text{total} \div \text{number}$ Example $(12 + 15 + 18) \div 3 =$ $15$
Total from the average $\text{average} \times \text{number}$ Example3 numbers, average 14 → $14 \times 3 =$ $42$

Words to know

Average: What each would get if the total were shared out equally.
Total: All the values added together.
Number of items: How many values the total is shared between. A zero still counts.

The sentence that costs the mark

The average mass of 4 parcels is 18 kg. A fifth parcel is added and the average becomes 19 kg. What is the mass of the fifth parcel?

What the working usually does

19 kg ×4 parcels=76 kg

Uses the new average with the old count, so the fifth parcel comes out at 4 kg.

What the question asked

19 kg ×5 parcels=95 kg

The new average belongs to five parcels, so the fifth is 95 − 72 = 23 kg.

Both columns multiply correctly and both give a believable parcel. The count changed the moment the parcel was added, and the working carried on with the old one.

The same P6 average question, worked properly

Lah works through it the way she does every question in StudyLah: one step at a time, marking the picture as she goes.

P, Q and R are three 2-digit numbers with an average of 40. P is 18, and Q is 5 times R. Find the value of Q.

Step 1 of 5▌

Turn the average into a total: 40 × 3 = 120.
Take P away from the total, not from the average. Q and R together are 120 − 18 = 102.
Q is 5 times R, so draw R as 1 unit and Q as 5 units, 6 units in all. The 6 units make 102, so 1 unit = 102 ÷ 6 = 17.
Q is 5 units, so Q = 5 × 17 = 85.
So the value of Q is 85.

Every question in StudyLah comes with a walkthrough like this one.

Try it free

Two quick P6 average questions

Try them together, then tap to check.

Question 1

The points Wei Jie scored in 5 basketball matches are shown in the table. Find his average points per match.

Match	1	2	3	4	5
Points	15	8	11	0	9

Show answer

Answer8.6 points. The total is 15 + 8 + 11 + 0 + 9 = 43. The match with 0 points still counts, so 43 ÷ 5 = 8.6.

Question 2

Aisyah wrote three different 3-digit numbers whose average is 140. Her first number is 128. She makes the next two as close together as possible. What are those two numbers?

Show answer

Answer145 and 147. The total is 140 × 3 = 420, so the other two make 420 − 128 = 292. Half is 146, but the numbers must differ.

Helping at home

How to tell it has clicked

When an average turns up, ask one thing: how many things is that shared between? Listen for a number, then for your child to work out the total.

Repeating the average back is the formula without the idea under it. It holds up until a question adds something to the set.

Try this tonight

Put four things on the kitchen scale one at a time and work out the average mass together. Then add a fifth and ask what the average does now.

Adding one thing changes both numbers in the sum, the total and the count. Noticing that is the skill.

Before and after P6 average

Builds on
Primary 5 Whole Numbers and Four Operations
Does the operations in the right order
You are here
Primary 6 Average
Turns an average into a total

More in Primary 6

Struggling with the working rather than the topic itself? How to help your child with problem sums

See how your child is doing on this topic

StudyLah marks each step separately, so you can see whether it was the setup or the arithmetic that cost the mark.

Try it free