Calculating Averages with Arrays: A Step-by-Step Guide

Arrays are a fundamental data structure in programming, and calculating averages is a common task when working with large datasets. In this guide, we’ll break down the process of calculating averages using arrays into simple, easy-to-follow steps.

Storing Values in an Array

To calculate the average, we need to store the floating-point values in an array. Let’s call this array numArray. This array will hold the numbers whose average we want to calculate.

Calculating the Sum

To find the average, we need to calculate the sum of all elements in the array. We can do this using a for-each loop. This loop iterates over each element in the array, adding it to a running total.

float sum = 0;
for (float num : numArray) {
    sum += num;
}

The Average Formula

Now that we have the sum, we can use the formula to calculate the average. The total count is given by numArray.length. We’ll divide the sum by this count to get the average.

float average = sum / numArray.length;

Formatting the Output

Finally, we’ll use the printf() function to print the average, limiting the decimal points to only 2 using %.2f. This ensures our output is clean and easy to read.

System.out.printf("The average is: %.2f%n", average);

The Complete Java Code

Here’s the equivalent Java code that brings it all together:

// Java Program to calculate average using arrays
public class AverageCalculator {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        float[] numArray = {12.5f, 23.7f, 34.9f, 45.1f, 56.3f};
        float sum = 0;
        for (float num : numArray) {
            sum += num;
        }
        float average = sum / numArray.length;
        System.out.printf("The average is: %.2f%n", average);
    }
}

With this program, you’ll be able to calculate the average of any set of numbers stored in an array. Give it a try and see the results for yourself!