Chapter 4

Measures of
Variation
 Different Shapes of Distributions

A frequency distribution is symmetric when a

vertical line can be drawn through the middle of
a graph of the distribution and the resulting
halves are approximately mirror images.
 Different Shapes of Distributions

A frequency distribution is skewed if the tail of

the graph elongates more to one side than the
other. A distribution is negatively skewed if its
tail extends to the left.
 Different Shapes of Distributions

A frequency distribution is skewed if the tail of

the graph elongates more to one side than the
other. A distribution is positively skewed if its
tail extends to the right.
Leptokurtic (Ku > 3) – frequency distribution with
a relatively high curve or peak
Platykurtic (Ku < 3) – frequency distribution with
relatively even values (flat)
 Mesokurtic (Ku = 3) – frequency distribution
which does not have a relatively high or too flat
curve or peak
Objectives:
•Define measures of dispersion ( range,
interquartile range, semi-interquartile
range, variance and standard deviation)
•Find the range, interquartile range, semi-
interquartile range, variance and standard
deviation of a data set
 Definition of Measure of Variation
• Measures of variation are used to help describe the
spread of the data. The four most commonly used
measures of variation are the range, interquartile
range, variance and standard deviation.
•Closely grouped data have relatively small values and
more widely spread out data have larger values.
Definition of Range
•The range is the difference in value between
the highest data value and the lowest data value
(for Ungrouped Data).
•The range is the difference in value between
the upper class boundary of the highest class
interval and the lower class boundary of the
lowest class interval (for Grouped Data).
Definition of Range
Range = Highest Value – Lowest Value

Upper Boundary of the Highest Class Interval

RANGE 
– Lower Boundary of the Lowest Class Interval
 Definition of Interquartile Range
•Interquartile range is the difference between the
values of upper quartile and lower quartile.
IQR = Q3 – Q1
•Semi-interquartile range indicates the spread of values
covering the middle 50% of the distribution.
Q3  Q1
SIQR (QD) = 2
Definition of Variance (Ungrouped Data)
•The variance is the average of the squared
deviations from the mean.
Population Variance
N  x  ( x )
2 2

 
2
2
N

 
2  (x  ) 2

N
Definition of Variance (Ungrouped Data)
•The variance is the average of the squared
deviations from the mean.
Sample Variance
n  x  ( x )
2 2

s 
2

n(n  1)

s 
2  (x  x) 2

n 1
Definition of Variance (Grouped Data)
•The variance is the average of the squared
deviations from the mean.
 N  fd  ( fd )
2 2
Population Variance =  2
  2  c 2

 N 

 n  fd  ( fd )
2 2
Sample Variance = s 
2
n(n  1)
 c 2

 
Definition of Standard Deviation
•The standard deviation is the square root of
the variance.
N  x  (  x)
2 2

Population Standard Deviation =   N 2

n  x 2  ( x) 2
Sample Standard Deviation = s
n(n  1)
 Definition of Standard Deviation
•The standard deviation is the positive square root of
the variance.
Population Standard Deviation
 N  fd 2  ( fd ) 2  2
  2 c
 N 
Sample Standard Deviation
 n  fd 2  ( fd ) 2  2
s  c
 n(n  1) 
• Raw Scores for Elementary Statistics
Examination

19 19 12 12 15 18 14

23 14 10 24 18 23 11
 CLASS f
45-49 2
40-44 7
35-39 12
30-34 15
25-29 26
20-24 16
15-19 7
10-14 3
Scores of Applicants for Employment in a Company
When interpreting the standard
deviation, remember that it is a
measure of the typical amount an
entry deviates from the mean. The
more the entries are spread out,
the greater the standard
deviation.