Mathematics
Mathematics
Problem
Find the population standard deviation of this data set.| <i>Value</i> | <i>Frequency</i> |
|---|---|
| 3 | 1 |
| 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 11 |
| 6 | 5 |
Intuitive explanation
Standard deviation measures how spread out data is from its center. Since you have frequencies, you'll first find the weighted mean (each value counts multiple times), then calculate how far each value typically sits from that mean. The key is treating each data point according to its frequency—a value appearing 11 times contributes much more to the overall spread than one appearing once.
Intuitive explanation
Standard deviation measures how spread out data is from its center. Since you have frequencies, you'll first find the weighted mean (each value counts multiple times), then calculate how far each value typically sits from that mean. The key is treating each data point according to its frequency—a value appearing 11 times contributes much more to the overall spread than one appearing once.