Lecture 4

Section 2.4: Measures of Variation

 References

Larson, R., Farber, B., Elementary Statistics-Picturing the

world, 5th Ed.

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The measure of variation in a set of observations refers
to how spread out the observations are from each
other.

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WHAT YOU SHOULD LEARN
➢ How to find the range of a data set.
➢ How to find the variance and standard
deviation of a population
➢ How to find the variance and standard
deviation of a sample.
➢ How to find the variance and standard deviation
of a sample grouped data.
Definition p.g. 80:

The range of a data set is the difference between

the maximum and the minimum data entries in
the set.

Range = (maximum data entry) – (minimum data entry)

Example(1) p.g. 80 :
Two corporations each hired 10 graduates. The starting
salaries for each graduate are shown. Find the range of the
starting salaries for Corporation A.
Starting Salaries for Corporation A (1000s of dollars)

Salary 41 38 39 45 47 41 44 41 37 42

Solution:
Range = maximum data entry – minimum data entry

R=
7
Try yourself 1 p.g.80
Two corporations each hired 10 graduates. The starting
salaries for each graduate are shown. Find the range of the
starting salaries for Corporation B.

Starting Salaries for Corporation B (1000s of dollars)

Salary 40 23 41 50 49 32 41 29 52 58

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DEVIATION, VARIANCE, AND STANDARD DEVIATION

Definition p.g 81 :
The deviation of an entry x in a population data
set is the difference between the entry and the
mean μ of the data set

Deviation of x = x –μ

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Example(2) p.g. 81 :
Find the deviation of each starting salary for
corporation A given in :
Starting salaries for corporation A(1000s of dollars)

Salary 41 38 39 45 47 41 44 41 37 42

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Solution:
The mean starting salary is μ= ∑X/N = 415/10 =41.5 or $41,500. To
find out how much each salary deviates from the mean, subtract 41.5
from the salary. For instance, the deviation of 41, or $41,000 is
Deviation of x = x –μ

Salary (x) 41 38 39 45 47 41 44 41 37 42 ∑X=415

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 Salary(x) Deviation
X-μ

41
38
39
45
47
41
44
41
37
the sum of
42 the deviations
∑X=415 ∑ (X-μ) =0 is zero

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Try yourself 2 p.g. 81

Find the deviation of each starting salary for

corporation B given in :
Starting salaries for corporation B (1000s of dollars)

Salary 40 23 41 50 49 32 41 29 52 58

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The variance of Ungrouped Data
Definition p.g 81 :

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Definition p.g. 82 :
The population standard deviation of a population
data set of N entries is the square root of the
population variance
population standard deviation =
𝛔= 𝛔𝟐
∑(𝐱 − 𝛍)𝟐
=
𝐍

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 When you add the the squares of the deviations,
you compute a quantity called the sum of
When you add the squaresdenoted
squares, of the deviations, you compute
a quantity called the sum of squares, denoted

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 p.g.82

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Example(3) p.g. 82 :
Find the population variance and standard deviation
of the starting salary for corporation A:
Starting salaries for corporation A(1000s of dollars)

Salary 41 38 39 45 47 41 44 41 37 42

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Salary(x) Deviation Squares
X-μ )X-μ(2 Solution:

41
38
39
45
47
41
44
41
37
42
∑X=415
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Try yourself 3 p.g. 82 :

Find the population variance and standard

deviation of the starting salary for corporation B :
Starting salaries for corporation B (1000s of dollars)

Salary 40 23 41 50 49 32 41 29 52 58

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Definition p.g. 83 :
The sample variance and sample standard
deviation of a sample data set of n entries
are listed below.
n
1
Sample variance= s =
2

n − 1 i −1
( xi − x ) 2

Sample standard deviation= s =

2
s
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 p.g.83

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 p.g.83

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 Study tip p.g. 83 :

Note that when you find the population variance , you divide
by N , the number of entries , But when you find the sample
variance, you divide by n – 1 , one less than the
number of entries,

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 Example
Calculate the standard deviation of the following
sample: (8,9,7,6,5)?
Solution:
n
1
1-Calculating the mean: x =  xi
n i =1

n
1
2- Calculating the variance: s 2 =

n − 1 i −1
( xi − x ) 2

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 xi xi − x ( xi − x )2 1 n

8
s2 = 
n − 1 i −1
( xi − x ) 2

9
7
6
5
Total

3- Calculating the standard deviation:

s = s2

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 Example(4) p.g. 83 :
Find the sample standard deviation of each starting
salary for
corporation A given in :
Starting salaries for corporation A (1000s of dollars)
Salary 41 38 39 45 47 41 44 41 37 42

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Notes:
➢ The standard deviation is always positive.
➢ Important: The variance S2 cannot be negative!.
When can S2 = 0?
Example: Calculate the standard deviation of the following sample:
8, 8, 8, 8, 8
xi xi − x ( xi − x )2
1 n

8 0 0 s2 = 
n − 1 i −1
( xi − x ) 2

8 0 0
8 0 0
8 0 0 The variance is:
8 0 0 = The standard deviation is:
Total 0 0
S=

If data are equal then the standard deviation is 0

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Interpreting Standard Deviation p.g.85:
when interpreting the standard deviation , remember
that it is a measure of the typical amount an entry
deviates from the mean. The more the entries are
spread out, the greater the standard deviation
Exercise (21) p.ge 91:
Both data sets have a mean of 165.One has a standard deviation of
16,and the other has a standard deviation of 24.Which is which ?
Explain your reasoning?

Solution:
(a) has a standard deviation of 24 and (b) has a standard deviation of
16,30 because the data in (a) have more variability.
Exercise (22) p.ge 91:
Both data sets have represented below have a mean of 50.One has a
standard deviation of 2.4,and the other has a standard deviation of
5.Which is which ? Explain your reasoning?

Solution:
(a) has a standard deviation of 2.4 and (b) has a standard deviation of
5, because the data in (a) have less variability.
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The variance of Grouped Data p.ge 88
You learned that large data sets are usually best represented
by a frequency distribution. The formula for the sample
variance for a frequency distribution is :

1
s =
2

n −1
 ( x − x )2
f

Where n=∑f is the number of entries in the data set.

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Finding the variance of grouped Data

Example (8) (p.70):

Use the frequency distribution to find the standard deviation of
number of minutes that a sample of Internet subscribers spent
online during their most recent session.

Class midpoint, x Frequency, f

12.5 6
24.5 10
36.5 13
48.5 8
60.5 5
72.5 6
84.5 2
Solution :
➢ Calculating the average
X F X.F
12.5 6 75

24.5 10 245 1 k
x =  xi f i
36.5 13 474.5 n i =1
48.5 8 388

60.5 5 302.5 = 2089 l 50 = 41.8

72.5 6 435

84.5 2 169
2089
50

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 Solution :

xi − x ( xi − x )2 ( xi − x )2 . f
➢ Calculating the variance
-29.3 858.49

s = 21
 (xi − x ) f
2
-17.3 299.29
n −1
-5.3 28.09

6.7 44.89

18.7 349.69
➢ Find the standard deviation is:
30.7 942.49
s= s 2

42.7 1823.29

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Example :
The following table shows the age distribution of sample of 25 children

Class interval Frequency

f
2-4 4
5-7 3
8-10 5
11-13 8
14-16 5
Total 25

Find the standard deviation

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 Class Frequency True class Midpoints
f xf (xi − x ) (xi − x )2 (xi − x )2 f
interval interval x
2-4 4 1.5-4.5 3 12 -6.84 46.7856 187.1424

5-7 3 4.5-7.5 6 18 -3.84

8-10 5 7.5-10.5 9 45 -0.84
11-13 8 10.5-13.5 12 96 2.16
14-16 5 13.5-16.5 15 75 5.16
Total 25
246

➢ Calculating the mean

1 k
x =  xi f i
n i =1
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➢ Calculating the variance

s = 21
 (xi − x ) f
2

n −1

➢ Find the standard deviation is:

s= s2

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 Homework
➢ Exercises 2.4 (4,5,6,11,12,13,14,15) page 90.

➢ Exercises 2.4 (18,21,30) page 91.

➢ (50, 51, 52 from page 76—Calculate the variance and the

standard deviation)

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