Measures of Variation

Measures of Variation

 The measures of variation or dispersion indicate the

degree or extent to which numerical values are
dispersed or spread out about the average value in a
distribution. It is also known as measures of
dispersion or measures of spread.
 Range
 Semi-Interquartile Range or Quartile Deviation
 Mean Deviation or Average Deviation
 Variance
 Standard Deviation
 Range

 The range of a set of data is the difference between

the largest value and the smallest.
For Ungrouped Data
Ex. the scores obtained by 12 students in a Statistics
class are 80, 75, 63, 95, 98, 78, 85, 90, 73, 68, 87, and
81. find the range.
R = HV – LV
= 98 – 63
R = 35
For Grouped Data
Ex. Find the range of a given frequency distribution
whose highest-class interval is 91 – 95 and lowest class
interval is 51 – 55.

𝑅 = 𝑈𝐵𝐻𝐶𝐼 − 𝐿𝐵𝐿𝐶𝐼
= 95.5 – 50.5
R = 45
The Semi-Interquartile Range or Quartile Deviation

The semi-interquartile range (SIQR) or quartile

deviation (QD) indicates the variation or dispersion of
the values covering the middle 50% of the distribution
of the data.
𝑄3 − 𝑄1
𝑆𝐼𝑄𝑅 𝑜𝑟 𝑄𝐷 =
2
Example:
12, 5, 22, 30, 7, 36, 65, 14, 42, 15, 53, 25
First, arrange the data in ascending order:
65
The Semi-Interquartile Range or Quartile Deviation

 If there is an even number of data items, then we

need to get the average of the middle numbers.

12+14 36+42
𝑄1 = = 13 𝑄3 = = 39
2 2

𝑄3 −𝑄1 39−13
𝑆𝐼𝑄𝑅 𝑜𝑟 𝑄𝐷 = = = 13
2 2
 Mean Deviation or Average Deviation

A more reliable measure of variation than the range,

the semi-interquartile range or quartile deviation is
the mean deviation(MD). The mean deviation (MD)
takes into account the deviation of the individual
values from the mean.
For Ungrouped Data
σ 𝑥−𝑥ҧ
𝑀𝐷 =
𝑛
For Grouped Data
σ 𝑓 𝑥−𝑥ҧ
𝑀𝐷 =
𝑛
Where:
x – refers to the individual value for ungrouped
data, and the midpoint of each class interval
for grouped data
𝑥ҧ - the mean of the data
n – the total number of frequencies
f – the frequency of each class interval
 Mean Deviation for Ungrouped Data

Ex: the number of TV units sold by an appliance store

for 10-days period are: 8, 9, 12, 6, 7, 13, 4, 2, 11 and 8.
determine the mean deviation.
Solutions:
 Mean Deviation for Grouped Data

σ 𝑓 𝑥 − 𝑥ҧ
𝑀𝐷 =
𝑛
1. Compute the mean 𝑥ҧ of the distribution.
2. Subtract the mean 𝑥ҧ from each of the midpoint and
write the absolute values of the results under the
column 𝑥 − 𝑥ҧ .
3. Find the product of items under column f and the item
under column 𝑥 − 𝑥ҧ .
4. Add the products in step 3 to obtain the value of
σ 𝑓 𝑥 − 𝑥ҧ .
5. Divide the sum obtained in step 4 by n.
 Activity

A. A high school teacher at a small private school assigns

trigonometry practice problems to be worked via the net.
Students must use a password to access the problems and
the time of log-in and log-off are automatically recorded
for the teacher. At the end of the week, the teacher
examines the amount of time each student spent working
the assigned problems.

15, 28, 25, 48, 22, 43, 49, 34, 22, 33, 27, 25, 22, 20, 39

Find the Range, Quartile Deviation, and Mean Deviation

for the above data.
 Activity

C. Midterm exam scores for a small advanced

neuroanatomy class are provided below. Scores
represent percent of items marked correct on the
exam.

87, 98, 75, 87, 94, 75, 35, 88, 87, 93, 44, 90

Find the Range, Quartile Deviation, and Mean

Deviation for the above data.
 The Variance

The variance is defined as the average of the squared

deviations from the mean. The square root of this
variance is known as the standard deviation. The
variance for a sample data is denoted by 𝑆 2 (reads S
squared), while the symbol for variance of the
population is 𝜎 2 , and is read sigma squared.
The raw data formula for computing the variance for
ungrouped data are:
𝑛 σ 𝑥2 − σ 𝑥 2
𝑆2 = for the sample data.
𝑛 𝑛−1
and
 𝑁 σ 𝑥2− σ 𝑥 2
𝜎2 = where for population data
𝑁2
Steps to determine the variance of an ungrouped data.
1. Arrange the values according to magnitude ( lowest
to highest or vice versa) vertically.
2. Find the sum of the values.
3. Square each value and write the result under
column 𝑥 2
4. Get the sum of the squared values in step 3.
5. Substitute the result obtained in step 2 and step 4
in the raw data formula.
Ex 1. Determine the variance of the following 8 sample
production units of a certain company: 10, 11, 9, 17, 13,
15, 13. and 20.
 The Variance for Grouped Data

Solving the variance of a grouped data by using a short

method known as the coding method formula:
𝑛 σ 𝑓𝑑 2 − σ 𝑓𝑑 2
𝑆2 = 𝑐 2 for sample data
𝑛(𝑛−1)

and

𝑁 σ 𝑓𝑑 2 − σ 𝑓𝑑 2
𝜎2 = 𝑐2 for population data
𝑁2
 Steps in obtaining the variance of a grouped data

The 𝑑 represent the coded value of a class interval and c,

the interval size of the class interval.
1. Write the coded values of the class interval under
the d column.
2. Multiply the frequencies by the corresponding
coded values.
3. Multiply the squared coded values by the
corresponding frequencies.
4. Add the result in step 2 and step 3.
5. Substitute the values in the coding formula.
Ex 2: a distribution of the ages of a sample of 87
managerial employees of a manufacturing company is
shown below. Find the variance by the coding method
formula.
 The Standard Deviation

The standard deviation is the most important measure of

variation. By knowing the standard deviation, we will be
able to determine the position of the scores in a frequency
distribution in relation to the mean. A standard deviation
of a small value means that the values, in a distribution are
scattered or spread out near the mean or vice versa.
The formula to compute the standard deviation are
For Ungrouped Data:
𝑛 σ 𝑥2 − σ 𝑥 2
𝑆= for sample data
𝑛 𝑛−1

and
For Grouped Data:

2 𝑁 σ 𝑓𝑑 2 − σ 𝑓𝑑 2
𝑆= 𝑐 𝑁2

Hence, the standard deviation of the ungrouped 8

sample data in Example 1 in which the variance
𝑆 2 = 13.71 is calculated as
𝑆 = 13.71
𝑆 = 3.7
Activity /Seatwork

1. Determine the variance and standard deviation of the

following scores obtained by 9 students in Algebra quiz: 7,
8, 2, 4, 5, 3, 6, 5, and 7.
2. For the past 15 days, the sales (in thousand pesos) of a
sample of 60 stores are recorded and tabulated in a
frequency distribution as follows. Determine the variance
and standard deviation.
 The Variance for Ungrouped Data
( Long Method Formula )

For variance of a sample data:

𝟐 𝒙 𝟐
σ 𝒙−ഥ
𝑺 = 𝒏−𝟏
where 𝑥ҧ is the mean of the sample data.

For the variance of a population:

𝟐 𝒙−𝝁 𝟐
𝑺 = where 𝜇 represent the mean of the population.
𝑵

1. Arrange the values from lowest to highest vertically.

2. Calculate the mean.
3. Obtain the individual deviation from the mean.
4. Square each deviation and write the results under the column
𝑥 − 𝑥ҧ 2 .
5. Find the sum of the squared deviations.
6. Divide the sum in step 5 by n-1 for sample data or by N for
population data.
Ex. Determine the variance of the following 8 sample
production units of a certain company: 10, 11, 9, 17, 13,
15, 13, and 20.
 The Variance for Grouped Data
( Long Method Formula)

The variance for grouped data (Long Method Formula)

𝟐 𝒙 𝟐
σ 𝒇 𝒙−ഥ
𝑺 = for sample data and
𝒏−𝟏

𝟐 σ 𝒇 𝒙−𝝁 𝟐
𝝈 = for population data
𝑵

Use 𝑥ҧ for the mean of a sample data and 𝜇 for the

mean of a population data.
 Steps to solve the variance of a grouped data by
long method formula

1. Find the value of the mean

2. Subtract the mean from each of the midpoint of
each class interval
3. Square each of the deviation in step 2 and write the
result under 𝑥 − 𝑥ҧ 2 .
4. Multiply the squared deviation in step 3 by their
corresponding frequencies.
5. Obtain the sum of the result in step 4.
6. Divide the result in step 5 by n-1 for sample data
and by N for population data.
Ex 2. a distribution of the ages of a sample of 87
managerial employees of a manufacturing company is
shown below. Find the variance using the long method
formula.
Standard Deviation (Long Method Formula)

For standard deviation for ungrouped data:

𝒙 𝟐
σ 𝒙−ഥ
𝑆. 𝐷. = for sample data
𝒏−𝟏

𝒙 𝟐
σ 𝒇 𝒙−ഥ
𝑆. 𝐷. = for population data
𝑵
Hence from Example 2,
The standard deviation of the grouped data on the
ages of 87 managerial employees is

S.D.= 𝑆2

= 52.93

S. D. = 7.28