Final answer:
The standard deviation of the sample of numbers is approximately 10.68, after calculating the mean, finding the deviations, squaring them, averaging the squared deviations to get the variance, and then taking the square root of the variance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking how to calculate the standard deviation of a sample of numbers. The sample given consists of the counts of bacteria found in ocean water, which are 41, 62, 45, 48, 69. To calculate the standard deviation, follow these steps:
- Calculate the mean (average) of the sample.
- Subtract the mean from each number in the sample to find their deviations.
- Square each deviation to get the squared deviations.
- Calculate the average of the squared deviations (this is the variance).
- Take the square root of the variance to get the standard deviation.
Performing the calculations, you get:
- Mean (average): (41 + 62 + 45 + 48 + 69) / 5 = 265 / 5 = 53
- Deviation for each number: -12, 9, -8, -5, 16
- Squared deviations: 144, 81, 64, 25, 256
- Variance: (144 + 81 + 64 + 25 + 256) / 5 = 570 / 5 = 114
- Standard deviation: √114 ≈ 10.68 (rounded to two decimal places)