Question

What do both the variance and standard deviation tell you about a distribution, and which measure will you want to compute?

A) Spread of data; Variance
B) Central tendency; Variance
C) Spread of data; Standard Deviation
D) Central tendency; Standard Deviation

Answer 1

Both variance and standard deviation measure the spread of data, but standard deviation is typically preferred as it's in the same units as the data.

Step-by-step explanation:

Both the variance and standard deviation are measures of the spread of data within a distribution. The variance is a squared measure that gives the average squared deviation from the mean, which tells us how spread out the data points are. The standard deviation is the square root of the variance, which makes it a measure in the same units as the data, making it easier to interpret and use, especially when comparing the spread of different data sets or assessing how far individual data points are from the mean.

When determining which measure to compute, it often depends on the analysis you plan to conduct. Since standard deviation is in the same units as the data and is easier to interpret when considering distribution spread, it is usually the preferred measure. Hence, the correct answer is C) Spread of data; Standard Deviation.