Question

In which of the following ways is standard deviation different from mean deviation?

• A. Standard deviation takes into account all observations.
• B. The unit of standard deviation is the same as that of the observations.
• C. Larger deviations are weighted more in standard deviation
• D. Standard deviation can be positive or negative.

Answer 1

The correct option is C Larger deviations are weighted more in standard deviation

Both mean deviation and standard deviation take into consideration all the observations, have the same unit as that of the observations and are always positive. However, in calculating standard deviation, the deviations are squared, giving higher weightage to larger deviations.