The mean of five numbers is 28. If one of the numbers is excluded, the mean gets reduced by 2. Find the excluded number.

Question: The mean of five numbers is 28. If one of the numbers is excluded, the mean gets reduced by 2. Find the excluded number.

Solution:
Mean of 5 numbers = 28.
Sum of these 5 numbers = (28 × 5) = 140.

Mean of the remaining 4 numbers = (28 - 2) =26.
Sum of these remaining 4 numbers = (26 × 4) = 104.

Excluded number
= (sum of the given 5 numbers) - (sum of the remaining 4 numbers)
= (140 - 104)
= 36.

Hence, the excluded number is 36.