1) I have two apples, one banana, one cherry.

Does it make sense to calculate the

"average" of these things? Would you code that as a factor or a numeric value in
R?

No, we cannot make an average on two apples, one banana, and one cherry, because
they are different kinds of fruits, not numbers.
Then, I would code Fruit as factors, since fruit is qualitative, not quantitative.

2) I have four quiz scores: 94, 93, 85, and 0. What is the mean (average) of my
quiz scores? Would you code this as a factor or a numeric value in R?

94+93+85+0 = 272
272/4= 68 = mean average of quiz scores.

I would code this as a numeric value.

3) In another class, I received these grades on my quizzes: two As, one B, and one
F. What is the mean (average) of my grades? Would you code that as a factor or a
numeric value in R?

No, average is not possible here, because the letter grades are not numbers, I would
code the grades (letters) as factors in R.

4) How would you explain the difference in mean values obtained in #2 and #3
above?

In question 2, we are using actual numbers that represent a score on the quiz. These
numbers are fixed scores that cannot change.
However, in question 3, letter grades represent a range of grade scores. These letters
represent a number that could be a multitude of different numbers within a parameter.