Question

The average number of newspapers for sale in an airport newsstand is 59 with a standard deviation of 9. The number of newspapers for sale in a convenience store is 36 with a standard deviation of 8. Which data set is more variable?

Answer 1

Answer: Sale of newspaper in a convenience store is more variable.

Explanation:

For variability or consistency , we use the method of coefficient of variation, which states that

`\text{coefficient of variation}= \frac{\text{Standard deviation}}{\text{ Mean }}* 100`

So for sale of newspaper in an airport newsstand is given by

`\text{coefficient of variation}\\\\=(9)/(59)* 100\\\\=(900)/(59)\\\\=15.25\%`

Similarly, for sale of newspaper in a convenience store is given by

`\text{coefficient of variation}\\\\=(8)/(36)* 100\\\\=(800)/(36)\\\\=22.22\%`

Since we get that the sale of newspaper in a convenience store is more than the sale of newspaper in an airport newsstand.

So, Sale of newspaper in a convenience store is more variable.