Standard mathematical formulas. Instant in-browser calculation, no account. Exact results for the values you enter.
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iHow it is calculated
The standard deviation measures how spread out the values are around the mean. It is the square root of the variance (the average of squared differences from the mean):
σ = √( Σ(xᵢ − mean)² ÷ n )
For 12, 7, 19, 3, 9, 14: the mean ≈ 10.67, and the sample standard deviation ≈ 5.68. A large deviation means dispersed values.
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?Frequently asked questions
What is the standard deviation?
A measure of how spread out the data is around the mean. The larger it is, the more dispersed the values; a small one means values close to the mean.
How is the standard deviation calculated?
Compute the mean, then the average of the squared differences from the mean (the variance), and take the square root. The result is the standard deviation.
What is the difference between sample and population?
The sample deviation divides by (n − 1) and is used when the data is a subset; the population deviation divides by n, when you have all the data.
What is the variance?
The average of the squared differences from the mean. The standard deviation is the square root of the variance, in the same units as the data.
What does a large vs small deviation show?
A large deviation indicates very varied data (more risk/uncertainty); a small one indicates consistent data, close to the mean.
How do I interpret the standard deviation?
For many distributions, about 68% of values lie within one standard deviation of the mean, and about 95% within two.
What is the standard deviation used for?
Statistics, quality control, finance (investment volatility), grades and research, to measure the consistency of data.
What is the link between standard deviation and the mean?
The mean shows the “center” of the data, while the standard deviation shows how far the values deviate from that center.
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