[tex]\text{To find mean, add all of the numbers together and divide by how many}\\\text{numbers there are}\\\\8 + 12 + 17 + 24 +29 +31+40= 161\\\\\text{There are 7 numbers, so divide by 7}\\\\161\div7=23\\\\\boxed{\text{The mean of the data set is 23}}[/tex]
