1. **Stating the problem:** We have a dataset of credits taken by 13 full-time college students: 8, 8, 11, 11, 8, 9, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 10. 2. **Goal:** Calculate the mean (average) number of credits taken. 3. **Formula for mean:** $$\text{Mean} = \frac{\text{Sum of all data points}}{\text{Number of data points}}$$ 4. **Calculate the sum:** $$8 + 8 + 11 + 11 + 8 + 9 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 10 = 100$$ 5. **Count the number of data points:** There are 12 numbers in the dataset. 6. **Calculate the mean:** $$\text{Mean} = \frac{100}{12}$$ 7. **Simplify the fraction:** $$\frac{100}{12} = \frac{\cancel{4}25}{\cancel{4}3} = \frac{25}{3}$$ 8. **Convert to decimal:** $$\frac{25}{3} \approx 8.33$$ **Final answer:** The mean number of credits taken is approximately $8.33$.