Measures of Variability

1. The data below shows the points scored by two collegiate basketball players in
10 games they played in a season.

Player Game Scores

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A 24 14 30 25 23 24 28 10 27 15
B 28 32 27 22 20 17 19 21 24 22

a. Find the standard deviation of the scores of

each player.

Mean = ❑
❑
❑
sd =
√
❑
Mean = ❑
❑
sd = ❑
❑√
b. What do these numbers tell you about the variability of the scoring
performance of these players?

c. Suppose you are a basketball coach wanting a player to be drafted into a

professional league. The teams in the league are looking for fresh talent with
experience playing in the collegiate league. Based on their scoring statistics,
who would you consider? Explain.

2. The table below shows the number of hours of sleep Maya had for the past week.
 Day Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
Number of
9 6 7 7 8 6 10
hours

A month after, they took a trip to New York, which is in a different time zone from
Cagayan de Oro City. The table below shows the number of hours of sleep Maya
had in this foreign city.

Day Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Number of
12 5 6 6 5 9 10
hours

a. Calculate the mean and standard deviation

of the two sets of data.

Mean = ❑
❑
❑
Mean = ❑
sd =
√
❑
❑
❑
sd =
√
❑

b. Compare the results for the two sets of data. What do the similarities or
differences in the results indicate? Explain your answer.