Check out split, it can be real helpful at times. 

# real important!
use strict;
use warnings;

# this is the file where the data is
my $file = 'path_to_file';

# these are some useful variables
my $sum = 0;
my $lines = 0;
my $avgerage;

# open file
open(FH, $file) or die "File $file failed to open:";

#read file in line by line
while(<FH>) {
  # get the third column and add it to $sum
  $sum += (split /\s+/, $_)[2];
  # update $lines
  $lines++;
}

# now, to get the average, all you do is say
$average = $sum/$lines;

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In reply to Re: Basic arithmetic functions by dimmesdale
in thread Basic arithmetic functions by KristiePi

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