QUANTITATIVE METHODS 1

Mr. FERDNAND A. REYES

Measures of Dispersion 2

LESSON OUTLINE
A. Measure of Dispersion —Ungrouped Data
B. Measure of Dispersion —Grouped Data

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Here’s what I will teach you in this course material:
A. Differentiate the measures of dispersion
B. Compute for the measures of dispersion

RESOURCES NEEDED
For this lesson, you would need the following resources:
A. PowerPoint presentation
B. Measures of Variability (Range, Standard Deviation, Variance)
C. Measures of Variability
D. MS Excel

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 PRETEST
Before you start, try answering the following questions. Identify if the
statement is TRUE or FALSE.

1. There are three kinds of averages.

________________________________________
2. Measures of variability are also known as measures of dispersion.
________________________________________
3. The range is the difference between the highest and the lowest values.
________________________________________
4. The mean deviation is the mean of the absolute deviations from the arithmetic
mean.
_______________________________________
5. The standard deviation is the square root of the mean of the squared deviations
from the mean.
________________________________________
6. The variance is the square of the standard deviation.
________________________________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

03 Pretest 08 Ungrouped Data

04 Key Point 09 Practice Exercise

05 M.D. Quiz Bee 10 Post Test

06 Grouped Data
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12 References
Measures of Dispersion 4

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 PRE-ACTIVITY:

Multidisciplinary Quiz Bee

Evaluate the scores of the following students. These are the
scores that they got after answering questions from five different
subjects.

Student A 97, 92, 96, 95, 90

Student B 94, 94, 92, 94, 96
Student C 95, 94, 93, 96, 92

What are the mean scores of student A, student B, and student C?

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Measures of Dispersion of Ungrouped Data.
Given the scores of the three students in the previous page, we want to know which
among those students will win the said quiz bee. To know this, the statistic that is most ap-
propriate to be used in this scenario is the mean. However, the mean scores of the three stu-
dents are the same. Measures of dispersion or variability provides additional information.

Student A 97, 92, 96, 95, 90

Student B 94, 94, 92, 94, 96
Student C 95, 94, 93, 96, 92

The range is the easiest measure of dispersion. Simply subtract the highest value by
the lowest value in a given set of data.
Student A: R = highest - lowest = 97 - 90 = 7
Student B: ___________________________
Student C: ___________________________
The scores of the two students are still the same. We should try to use another measure
of dispersion.

The scores of Students B and C both have a range of 4. We also know that the mean of
these scores are both 94. We simply get the deviation of the distance of each score
from the mean. The solution below is for Student B. Do the same thing for Student C.
Student B: (score minus mean)
d1 = |94 - 94| = 0
d2 = |94 - 94| = 0
d3 = |92 - 94| = 2
d4 = |94 - 94| = 0
d5 = |96 - 94| = 2
The mean of this deviation is achieved by (0+0+2+0+2)/5. The answer is 0.8

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Measures of Dispersion of Ungrouped Data.
From the previous page, we knew that student B has a mean deviation of 0.8 while stu-
dent C has a mean deviation of 1.2. The smaller mean deviation means the more con-
sistent the scores are. Therefore, by computing the mean deviation, we can say that stu-
dent B performed better than student C even if they have the same average of 94.

Standard Deviation
The last measure of dispersion that we are going to discuss is the standard
deviation. It is the most important measure of dispersion as it has more appli-
cations in inferential statistics. The formula
is presented on the right.
Simply get the summation of the square of
the difference of each score and the mean.
Divide this by the number of scores, then get
the square root.
Let us still use the data of the three students.
The table on the right is for Student A. The
first column from the left is a list of scores, 97 3 9
the second column shows its difference from 92 -2 4
the mean, which is 94.
96 2 4
95 1 1
Get the sum of the third column. The result is 90 -4 16
34. Divide it by 5, you will get 6.8.
Do not forget to get its square root, and the standard deviation is 2.6
Do the same thing for students B and C.

For discussion. Which student has the most consistent score?

(Note: lowest standard deviation)
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Measures of Dispersion of Grouped Data
Just like the measures of central tendency, the measure of dispersion in a grouped data can be comput-
ed with the use of formulas. The grouped data must be presented in a frequency distribution table.

Formula for the Mean Deviation of Grouped Data

Where:
f = frequency of each class
= mean

Formula for the Standard Deviation of Grouped Data

Where:
f = frequency of each class
x = class mark

For our example, we will use the scores of these students in a diagnostic test. The frequency is present-
ed on the right. If you also notice, each formula has different variables, therefore, separate tables for
mean deviation and standard deviation are suggested.
The mean for both boys and girls is 25.7 (Recall: mean of grouped data)

Scores Students (Boys) Students (Girls)

46—60 1
41—45 1 0
36—40 5 4
31—34 10 10
26—30 12 11
21—25 10 10
16—20 5 8
11—15 3 5
6—10 3 1
1—5 1

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Measures of Dispersion of Grouped Data
Continuing from the previous page, we will now apply the formula in getting the mean devia-
tion and standard deviation of the data presented.

Here is the table for solving the mean deviation of the scores of boys. Simply get the
Scores f summation of the second column
41—45 1 43 17.3 17.3 17.3
from the left and the summation
of the last column. After getting
36—40 5 38 12.3 12.3 61.5
the sum, divide them as stated in
31—34 10 33 7.3 7.3 73
the formula.
26—30 12 28 2.3 2.3 27.6
21—25 10 23 -2.7 2.7 27 The mean deviation for the boys
16—20 5 18 -7.7 7.7 38.5 is equal to 7.176.
11—15 3 13 -12.7 12.7 38.1
Refer to the table in the previous
6—10 3 8 -17.7 17.7 53.1
page and do the same thing for
1—5 1 3 -22.7 22.7 22.7
the girls. You should get a mean
deviation of 6.792

As for the standard deviation, this will be our table. Simply get the summation of the
Scores f 2nd, 4th, and 6th columns for the
41—45 1 43 43 1849 1849
right then plug it in our formula.
You have to be careful as the sum-
36—40 5 38 190 1444 7220
mation of (fx)2 is different from the
31—34 10 33 330 1089 10890
summation of (fx2).
26—30 12 28 336 784 9408
21—25 10 23 230 529 5290 If you are successful in plugging
16—20 5 18 90 324 1620 the values into the formula, the
11—15 3 13 39 169 507 standard deviation for the boys is
6—10 3 8 24 64 192 equal to 8.99
1—5 1 3 3 9 9
Do the same steps for the girls and
you will get 8.28

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 MS Excel

ST
TE
ST
PO

Task: Using MS Excel

Search on how we can use MS Excel to com-
pute for the range and standard deviation.

Use the examples found on page 6. Then

attach the excel file as your submission.

File name: LAST NAME_ CM3 Posttest

Tips:
 You can present your answer using
Excel formulas.
 You can also use the data analysis function
of Excel.

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POSTTEST

I. Quipper Activity. Open your Quipper account and answer

the assignment posted.

II. Get the range, mean deviation and standard deviation of the follow-
ing ungrouped data.
_______ 1. 7, 12, 11, 8, 13, 9
_______ 2. 18, 17, 24, 24, 17, 25, 24, 22, 24, 25

III. Get the mean deviation and standard deviation of the following
grouped data.

Age of teachers Frequency

21—25 5
26—30 8
31—35 8
36—40 11
41—45 15
46—50 14
51—55 12
56—60 5
61—65 2

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REFERENCES

Keller, Gerald (2012). Managerial Statistics, 9th Edition. China: South-Western CENGAGE Learning.

Levine, David M. et. al.(2005). Statistics for Managers Using Microsoft Excel, 4th Edition. New Jersey:
Pearson Education Inc.

Medenhall, W., Beaver R., Beaver, B. (2010). Probability and Statistics Fundamentals. Philippines:
CENGAGE Learning.

Gonzales, J., Nocon, R. (2013) Essential Statistics. Malabon City. Mutya Publishing House

Scheaffer, Mulekar, McClave. (2012). Probability and Statistics for Engineers. CENGAGE Learning.

Orines, Fernando B. (2008). Next Century Mathematics Advanced Algebra, Trigonometry, and
Statistics. Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House

Deauna, Melecio, C. (1996). Elementary Statistics for Basic Education. Quezon City: Phoenix
Publishing House.

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