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Standard Deviation

The document discusses standard deviation as a measure of how spread out numbers are in a data set compared to the mean. It provides examples of calculating standard deviation, including finding the distances from the mean, squaring the distances, summing them, and taking the square root. This allows comparing how scores are distributed between two classes that had the same average score on a quiz.

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21 views28 pages

Standard Deviation

The document discusses standard deviation as a measure of how spread out numbers are in a data set compared to the mean. It provides examples of calculating standard deviation, including finding the distances from the mean, squaring the distances, summing them, and taking the square root. This allows comparing how scores are distributed between two classes that had the same average score on a quiz.

Uploaded by

plantanpo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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STANDARD DEVIATION

Two classes took a


recent quiz. There
were 10 students in
each class, and each
class had an average
score of 81.5
Since the averages are the
same, can we assume
that the students in both
classes all did pretty much
the same on the exam?
The answer is… No.

The average (mean) does


not tell us anything about
the distribution or
variation in the grades.
Here are Dot-Plots of the grades in
each class:
Mean
So, we need to come up
with some way of
measuring not just the
average, but also the
spread of the distribution
of our data.
Why not just give an
average and the range of
data (the highest and
lowest values) to describe
the distribution of the
data?
Well, for example, lets say from
a set of data, the average is
17.95 and the range is 23.

But what if the data looked


like this:
Here is the average

But really, most of


the numbers are in
this area, and are
And here is the range not evenly
distributed
throughout the
range.
The Standard Deviation is
a number that measures
how far away each
number in a set of data is
from their mean.
If the Standard Deviation is
large, it means the numbers are
spread out from their mean.

If the Standard Deviation is


small, it means the numbers
are close to their mean.
Here are 72
the scores 76
on the 80
math quiz 80
81
for Team A: Average:
83
84
81.5
85
85
89
The Standard Deviation measures how far away each
number in a set of data is from their mean.

For example, start with the lowest score, 72. How far
away is 72 from the mean of 81.5?
72 - 81.5 = - 9.5

- 9.5
Or, start with the lowest score, 89. How far away is 89
from the mean of 81.5?
89 - 81.5 = 7.5

- 9.5 7.5
Distance
from
So, the first Mean
step to 72 -9.5
finding the 76
Standard 80
Deviation is 80
to find all 81
the 83
distances 84
from the
85
mean.
85
89 7.5
Distance
from
So, the first Mean
step to 72 - 9.5
finding the 76 - 5.5
Standard 80 - 1.5
Deviation is 80 - 1.5
to find all 81 - 0.5
the 83 1.5
distances 84 2.5
from the
85 3.5
mean.
85 3.5
89 7.5
Distance
from Distances
Next, you Mean Squared

need to 72 - 9.5 90.25


square 76 - 5.5 30.25
each of the 80 - 1.5
distances 80 - 1.5
to turn 81 - 0.5
them all 83 1.5
into 84 2.5
positive
85 3.5
numbers
85 3.5
89 7.5
Distance
from Distances
Next, you Mean Squared

need to 72 - 9.5 90.25


square 76 - 5.5 30.25
each of the 80 - 1.5 2.25
distances 80 - 1.5 2.25
to turn 81 - 0.5 0.25
them all 83 1.5 2.25
into 84 2.5 6.25
positive
85 3.5 12.25
numbers
85 3.5 12.25
89 7.5 56.25
Distance
from Distances
Add up all Mean Squared

of the 72 - 9.5 90.25


distances 76 - 5.5 30.25 Sum:
80 - 1.5 2.25 214.5
80 - 1.5 2.25
81 - 0.5 0.25
83 1.5 2.25
84 2.5 6.25
85 3.5 12.25
85 3.5 12.25
89 7.5 56.25
Distance
from Distances
Divide by n Mean Squared
where n 72 - 9.5 90.25
represents
76 - 5.5 30.25
the amount Sum:
of numbers 80 - 1.5 2.25 214.5
you have. 80 - 1.5 2.25 10
81 - 0.5 0.25
= 21.5
83 1.5 2.25
84 2.5 6.25
85 3.5 12.25
85 3.5 12.25
89 7.5 56.25
Distance
from Distances
Finally, Mean Squared

take the 72 - 9.5 90.25


Square 76 - 5.5 30.25 Sum:
Root of the 80 - 1.5 2.25 214.5
average 80 - 1.5 2.25 10
distance 81 - 0.5 0.25
= 21.5
83 1.5 2.25
= 4.6
84 2.5 6.25
85 3.5 12.25
85 3.5 12.25
89 7.5 56.25
Distance
from Distances
This is the Mean Squared

Standard 72 - 9.5 90.25


Deviation 76 - 5.5 30.25 Sum:
80 - 1.5 2.25 214.5
80 - 1.5 2.25 10
81 - 0.5 0.25
= 21.5
83 1.5 2.25
= 4.6
84 2.5 6.25
85 3.5 12.25
85 3.5 12.25
89 7.5 56.25
Distance
from Distances
Now find Mean Squared

the 57
Standard 65
Deviation 83
for the 94
other class 95
grades 96
98
93
71
63
Population Standard Deviation
formula

  ( x  ) 2

■ Mean is represented by μ and n is the


number of items.
■ Sigma Notation, Σ, which represents the sum
of all the items to the right of Sigma.
■ Standard Deviation is often denoted by the
lowercase Greek letter sigma, σ.
Sample Standard Deviation
formula
Now, lets compare the two
classes again

Team A Team B

Average on
the Quiz 81.5 81.5
Standard
Deviation 4.88 15.91
Z-score: your individual score
compared to the group

Below average µ Above average

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