Question

How to calculate the spread of data

Answer 1

To calculate the spread of data, you can use several statistical measures such as range, variance, and standard deviation. Here are some common methods for calculating spread:

1. Range: The range is the difference between the largest and smallest values in a dataset. To calculate the range, subtract the smallest value from the largest value.

Range = Maximum value - Minimum value

2. Variance: The variance measures how spread out the values in a dataset are from the mean. To calculate the variance, follow these steps:
- Calculate the mean (average) of the dataset.
- Subtract the mean from each value in the dataset, square the result, and sum all the squared differences.
- Divide the sum by the total number of values in the dataset.

Variance = Σ(x - μ)² / n

where x represents each value in the dataset, μ is the mean, and n is the total number of values.

3. Standard Deviation: The standard deviation is the square root of the variance and provides a measure of how spread out the values are from the mean. To calculate the standard deviation, simply take the square root of the variance.

Standard Deviation = √(Variance)

These methods can help you quantify and understand the spread of data in a dataset.