Statistics refers to the study of the analysis, interpretation, collection, presentation, and organization of data. Standard deviation is an important topic in statistics. It is the measure of dispersion of a set of data from its mean. It measures the absolute variability of a distribution. It shows a typical deviation from the mean. The formula for standard deviation is given by
Here,
n = size of the population
x̄ = mean of the population
xi = each value of the population
In this article, we will learn the important properties of standard deviation.
6 Important Properties of Standard Deviation
1. It cannot be negative.
2. It is only used to measure spread or dispersion around the mean of a data set.
3. It shows how much variation or dispersion exists from the average value.
4. It is sensitive to outliers. A single outlier can raise σ and, in turn, distort the picture of the spread.
5. For data with almost the same mean, the greater the spread, the greater the standard deviation.
6. Standard deviation can be used in conjunction with the mean in order to calculate data intervals when analyzing normally distributed data.
Example
Find the standard deviation for the following data series:
10, 6, 7, 3, 15, 8, 2, 5.
Solution:
Given set of data = 10, 6, 7, 3, 15, 8, 2, 5.
Mean = (10+6+7+3+15+8+2+5)/8 = 7
Standard deviation = √[(10-7)2 +(6-7)2+ (7-7)2+ (3-7)2+(15-7)2+ (8-7)2+(2-7)2+(5-7)2/8]
= √(9+1+0+16+64+1+25+4)/8 = 3.872
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you mean by Standard Deviation?
The Standard Deviation is a measure of dispersion of a dataset relative to its mean. It is calculated as the square root of the variance.
List two properties of Standard Deviation.
Standard Deviation shows how much variation exists from the average value.
Standard Deviation is only used to measure spread or dispersion around the mean of a data set.
Can Standard Deviation be negative?
No. Standard Deviation cannot be negative.
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