Standard Deviation and Variance
Standard Deviation and Variance Deviation just means how far from the normal Standard Deviation The Standard Deviation is a measure of how spread out numbers are. Its symbol is σ (the greek letter sigma) The formula is easy: it is the square root of the Variance. So now you ask, "What is the Variance?" Variance The Variance is defined as: The average of the squared differences from the Mean. To calculate the variance follow these steps: Work out the Mean(the simple average of the numbers) Then for each number: subtract the Mean and then square the result (the squared difference ). Then work out the average of those squared differences. Example You and your friends have just measured the heights of your dogs (in millimeters): The heights (at the shoulders) are: 600mm, 470mm, 170mm, 430mm and 300mm. Find out the Mean, the Variance, and the Standard Deviation. Your first step is to find the Mean: Answer: Mean = ...
