Last Updated : 22 Apr, 2025
Given an array of numbers, you are required to calculate the mean (average) using recursion.
Note: The mean of an array is the sum of its elements divided by the number of elements in the array.
Examples:
Input: 1 2 3 4 5
Output: 3
Explanation: The sum of elements (15) divided by the number of elements (5) gives the mean: 3Input: 1 2 3
Output: 2
Explanation: The sum of elements (6) divided by the number of elements (3) gives the mean: 2
The approach to finding the mean using recursion involves summing the elements of the array progressively. In each recursive call, the function calculates the sum of the first n-1 elements and adds the current element. It then divides the total sum by n to compute the mean. The base case is when there's only one element left, at which point that element is directly returned.
The recursive formula for calculating the mean of an array is:
\text{mean}(A, N) = \frac{\text{mean}(A, N-1) \times (N-1) + A[N-1]}{N} C++
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
using namespace std;
double findMean(const vector<int>& arr) {
int n = arr.size();
if (n == 1)
// Base case: when there is only one element
return (double)arr[n-1];
else
return ((double)(findMean(vector<int>(arr.begin(), arr.begin() + n-1)) *
(n-1) + arr[n-1]) / n);
}
int main() {
double mean = 0;
vector<int> arr = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
cout << findMean(arr) << endl;
return 0;
}
C
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
double findMean(int* arr, int n) {
if (n == 1)
// Base case: when there is only one element
return (double)arr[n-1];
else
return ((double)(findMean(arr, n-1) * (n-1) + arr[n-1]) / n);
}
int main() {
double mean = 0;
int arr[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
int n = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);
printf("%f\n", findMean(arr, n));
return 0;
}
Java
import java.util.Arrays;
class GfG {
static double findMean(int[] arr) {
int n = arr.length;
if (n == 1)
// Base case: when there is only one element
return (double)arr[n-1];
else
return ((findMean(Arrays.copyOf(arr, n-1)) * (n-1) + arr[n-1]) / n);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
int[] arr = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
System.out.println(findMean(arr));
}
}
Python
def findMean(arr):
n = len(arr)
if n == 1:
# Base case: when there is only one element
return float(arr[n - 1])
else:
return (findMean(arr[:n - 1]) * (n - 1) + arr[n - 1]) / n
if __name__ == "__main__":
arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
mean = findMean(arr)
print("Mean:", mean)
C#
using System;
class GfG {
static double findMean(int[] arr) {
int n = arr.Length;
if (n == 1)
// Base case: when there is only one element
return (double)arr[n-1];
else {
// Create a subarray excluding the last element
int[] subArray = new int[n - 1];
Array.Copy(arr, subArray, n - 1);
// Recursive case: calculate mean of the subarray and add
// the current element
return (findMean(subArray) * (n - 1) + arr[n - 1]) / n;
}
}
static void Main() {
int[] arr = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
Console.WriteLine(findMean(arr));
}
}
JavaScript
function findMean(arr) {
const n = arr.length;
if (n === 1)
// Base case: when there is only one element
return arr[n-1];
else
return (findMean(arr.slice(0, n-1)) * (n-1) + arr[n-1]) / n;
}
// Driver Code
const arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
console.log(findMean(arr));
Time Complexity: O(n)
Auxiliary Space: O(n)
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