Harmonic Mean (Noun)
Meaning
The mean of n numbers expressed as the reciprocal of the arithmetic mean of the reciprocals of the numbers.
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
Examples
- The harmonic mean of the two numbers 2 and 3 is 2.4, which is less than their arithmetic mean of 2.5.
- In finance, the harmonic mean is used to calculate the average price of a set of stocks with different prices and quantities.
- The harmonic mean of the rates of return of two investments is used to calculate the overall rate of return of the portfolio.
- The harmonic mean is used in music to calculate the average frequency of a set of notes with different frequencies.
- In statistics, the harmonic mean is used to calculate the average of a set of rates or ratios, such as the average speed of a set of cars traveling at different speeds.