MEASURES OF DISPERSION

Researchers rely on one statistic or parameter to study data set. They supplement measures of central tendency with
measures of dispersion. This measure describes how scattered or how dispersed elements are in a data set. Range is one measure of
dispersion which is easy to compute. It is simply the difference between the maximum and minimum values. However, academic and
high level researches rarely rely on range alone to measure dispersion.
The manner by which we compute sample standard deviation is different from how we obtain the population standard
deviation. Take note that for σ, the divisor is √𝑁, for s it is √𝑛 − 1

Since standard deviation measures the degree of scattering, a standard deviation which is close to zero suggests elements of
the data set are relatively closer to the mean than a data set where the standard deviation is large. Two data sets can have the same
means, but the difference in standard deviations bring different stories.
STANDARD DEVIATION VS. VARIANCE
In order to come up with the standard deviation, we should first pass variance. It is another measure of dispersion which is the
square of the standard deviation.

population variance = σ2
sample variance = s2
Formula for standard deviation:

Given the population with n elements {x1, x2, x3,…xn}, with the population mean µ, the standard deviation of the population is

𝛴(𝑥− µ)2
σ=√
𝑁

Given the population with n elements {x1, x2, x3,…xn}, with the sample mean µ, the standard deviation of the sample is

𝛴(𝑥 − x̅)2
s=√ 𝑛−1

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STANDARD DEVIATION

Problem 1:
The same exam is administered to two section of Grade 3 learners, section A and B. The passing score is 75%. The results of the exam
are listed below:
A = {90, 60, 90, 60, 90, 60} B = {75, 76, 75, 76, 75, 77}
Solution for section A:
1. Solve for the mean, 𝑥̅ = 75

x x-𝒙
̅ (x – 𝒙
̅)2
90 90 – 75 = 15 (15)2 = 225
60 60 – 75 = - 15 (-15)2 = 225
90 90 – 75 = 15 (15)2 = 225
60 60 – 75 = - 15 (-15)2 = 225
90 90 – 75 = 15 (15)2 = 225
60 60 – 75 = - 15 (-15)2 = 225
Total 1350

2. Divide the total score to the population (N = 6) so, 1350/6 = 225 (variance)
3. Solve for the square root of the answer,
σA = √225 = 15

Solution for section A:

1. Solve for the mean, 𝑥̅ = 75.667

x x–x (x – x)2
75 75 – 75.667 = -0.667 (-0.667)2 = 0.445
76 76 – 75.667= 0.333 (0.333)2 = 0.111
 75 75 – 75.667= -0.667 (-0.667)2 = 0.445
76 76 – 75.667= 0.333 (0.333)2 = 0.111
75 75 – 75.667= -0.667 (-0.667)2 = 0.445
77 77 – 75.667= 1.333 (1.333)2 = 1.777
Total 3.334

2. Divide the total score to the population (N = 6) so, 3.334/6 = 0.556 (variance)
3. Solve for the square root of the answer,
σB = √0.556 = 0.745

Summary:
If you are to compare the means of both sections, they are almost equal. But as shown in the standard deviations, Section A (σA = 15)
and section B (σB = 0.745) have different performances. In section A, half of the class passed and the rest failed while in Section B, all
the students passed.

ACTIVITY 1: (26pts)
In a 50 – item test, learners in Section A scored the following {34, 38, 42, 36, 47} while learners in Section B scored {28, 44, 35, 30,
18} Solve for the mean, variance and standard deviation using the given data set. Create a table to show your solution.

STANDARD DISTRIBUTION OF PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION

This is used to describe the spread of variability of a probability distribution. The standard deviation of a probability is:

σ = √𝛴((𝑥 − 𝑢)2 . 𝑃(𝑥)

Sample Problem:
A teacher monitors the number of times per week her best student recites in her Math subject. The probability distribution for X is:
x P(x)
0 4% or 0.04
1 22% or 0.22
2 46% or 0.46
3 18% or 0.18
4 8% or 0.08
5 2% or 0.02
The expected values are:

x P(x) x. P(x)
0 4% or 0.04 0
1 22% or 0.22 0.22
2 46% or 0.46 0.92
3 18% or 0.18 0.54
4 8% or 0.08 0.32
5 2% or 0.02 0.1

µ = 0 + 0.22 + 0.92 + 0.54 + 0.32 + 0.1 = 2.1

x P(x) (x - µ)2. P(x)

0 4% or 0.04 (0 – 2.1)2 (0.04) = 0.176
1 22% or 0.22 (1 – 2.1)2 (0.22) = 0.266
2 46% or 0.46 (2 – 2.1)2 (0.46) = 0.005
3 18% or 0.18 (3 – 2.1)2 (0.18) = 0.146
4 8% or 0.08 (4 – 2.1)2 (0.08) = 0.289
5 2% or 0.02 (5 – 2.1)2 (0.02) = 0.168
σ2 = = 1.05
σ = square root of 1.05
σ = 1.025
ACTIVITY 2: (11pts)
In a class, the copy of periodic tests given has some rejects. The table below shows the reject test papers from 1st to 4th quarter.
Solve for the mean, variance and standard deviation.
x P(x)
22 0.21
24 0.28
20 0.26
18 0.25