MEASURES OF DISPERSION

OR

MEASURES OF VARIABILITY

Measures of central tendency give us a rough idea where data points are centred. For better
interpretation of given data other than measures of central tendency one need the tools which
measures variability or scatteredness of data such tools are known as measures of dispersions.
Commonly used measures of dispersion are:

(i) Range
(ii) Inter-quartile range and Quartile deviation
(iii) Mean deviation
(iv) Variance
(v) Standard deviation
(vi) Coefficient of Variation

RANGE

Range: Difference between the largest and the smallest observations of given data is known as
range of the data. If L and S are the largest and the smallest observations of given data then range
is given by

For example,

(i) Range of the data 15, 27, 12, 45, 29, 40, 32 is

(ii) Range of the data

x 5 9 15 26 32

f 2 4 3 6 1

is
(iii) Range of the data

x 15 22 26 45 51

f 0 6 7 4 8

is
(iv) Range of the data

x 105 117 124 147 162

f 2 4 3 6 0

is
(v) Range of the data

x 76 82 98 88 96

f 0 5 3 6 0

is
(vi) Range of the data

CI 15-25 25-35 35-45 45-55 55-65

f 2 4 3 6 1

is
(vii) Range of the data

CI 15-25 25-35 35-45 45-55 55-65

f 2 4 3 6 0

is
(viii) Range of the data

CI 15-25 25-35 35-45 45-55 55-65

f 0 4 3 6 1

is
(ix) Range of the data

CI 15-25 25-35 35-45 45-55 55-65

f 0 4 3 6 0

is
Coefficient of Range: It is a relative measure and given by

For example, in above discussed examples

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(v) the observations from the arithmetic mean of the observations and is generally denoted

by

VARIANCE ( )
Variance: The variance of given data is the arithmetic mean of the squares of all deviations of
(a) Variance in Case of Individual Observations:
If are n values (or observations) of a variable X, then the variance of these
values is denoted by and is given by

Note:
This formula is used only when AM is a whole number.

 If AM is not a whole number we should used the formula given below:

  If values of X are large we can use the following formula known as short-cut method

which will save lot of calculation work

(b) Variance in case of Discrete Frequency Distribution

In case of discrete frequency distribution variance may be calculated by any of the following
methods
(i) Direct Method
(ii) Short-cut Method
(iii) Step-deviation Method

Direct Method: If a variable X takes values with corresponding

frequencies respectively, then variance of X is given by

Note:
 This formula is used only when AM is a whole number.

 If AM is not a whole number we should used the formula given below:

 If values of X are large we can use the following formula known as short-cut method

which will save lot of calculation work

 If values of d have some common factor h (say) then following formula known as step-

deviation method further simplfy the calculation work

(c) Variance in case of Grouped Data or Continuous Frequency Distribution
In case of grouped frequency data first of all mid values of the class intervals are taken as
(i = 1, 2, 3, …), then any of the methods discussed for discrete frequency distribution

can be used. But one should prefer step-deviation method if class interval is same for all
classes.

STANDARD DEVIATION

Standard Deviation: Standard deviation is defined as positive square root of the variance, i.e.

Note: Advantage of SD over variance is that units of standard deviation and of given
observations are same.

COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION (C.V.)

So, far we have studied some measures of dispersion such as range, coeff. of range, variance and
standard deviation. Standard deviation has the same unit in which the data are given. Whenever
we want to compare the variability of two series with same mean, which are measured in
different units, we do not merely calculate the measures of dispersion but we require such
measures which are independent of the units. The measure of variability which is independent of
units is called coefficient of variation and is denoted by C.V. and is given by

where are the standard deviation and mean respectively of the data.

EXERCISES
1. Find the variance of the following data:
6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24
Solution:
2. Find the variance and standard deviation for the following data.
4 8 11 17 24 32

3 5 9 5 3 1
3. Calculate the mean, variance and standard deviation for the following distribution. By using direct
method.
Class 30 – 40 40 – 50 50 – 60 60 – 70 70 – 80 80 – 90 90 – 100

Frequency 3 7 12 15 8 3 2

4. Find the standard deviation for the following data

3 8 13 18 23

7 10 15 10 6

5. Calculate mean, variance and standard Deviation for the following distribution. By using step-
deviation method.
Classes 30 – 40 40 – 50 50 – 60 60 – 70 70 – 80 80 – 90 90 – 100

Frequency 3 7 12 15 8 3 2

Find the mean and variance for each of the data in Exercises 6 to 10.
6. 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 4, 8, 12
7. First n natural numbers.
8. First 10 multiples of 3.
9.

6 10 14 18 24 28 30

2 4 7 12 8 4 3

10.
92 93 97 98 102 104 109

3 2 3 2 6 3 3

11. Find the mean and standard deviation using short – cut method.
60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68

2 1 12 29 25 12 10 4 5

Find the mean and variance for the following frequency distribution in Exercises 12 and 13.
12.
 Classes 0- 30 30-60 60-90 90-120 120-150 150-180 180-210

Freq. 2 3 5 10 3 5 2

13.

Classes 0 – 10 10 – 20 20 – 30 30 – 40 40 – 50

Frequencies 5 8 15 16 6

14. Find the mean, variance and standard deviation using short – cut method.
Height in cms 70 – 75 75 – 80 80 – 85 85 – 90 90 – 95 95 – 100 – 105 105 – 110 –
100 110 115

No. of children 3 4 7 7 15 9 6 6 3

15. The diameters of circles (in min) drawn in a design are given below.

Diameters 33 – 36 37 – 40 41 – 44 45 – 48 49 – 52

No. of circles 15 17 21 22 25

16. Two plants A and B of a factory show following results about the number of workers and the
wages paid to them.
A B

No. of workers 5000 6000

Average monthly wages Rs 2500 Rs 2500

Variance of distribution of wages 81 100

17. Coefficient of variation of two distribution are 60 and 70, and their standard deviation are
21 and 16, respectively. What are their arithmetic means.
18. The following values are calculated in respect of heights and weights of the students of a section
of Class XI:
Height Weight

Mean 162.6cm 52.36kg

Variance 127.69 cm2 23.1361 kg2

Can we say that the weights show greater variation than the heights?
19. From the data given below state which group is more variable, A or B?

Marks 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80

Group A 9 17 32 33 40 10 9

Group B 10 20 30 25 43 15 7

20. From the prices of shares X and Y below, find out which is more stable in value.
X 35 54 52 53 56 58 52 50 51 49

Y 108 107 105 105 106 107 104 103 104 101

21. An analysis of monthly wages paid to workers in two firms A and B, belonging to the
same industry, gives the following results.
Firm A Firm B

No. of wage earners 586 648

Mean of monthly wages Rs 5253 Rs 5253

Variance of the distribution of wages 100 121

(i) Which firm A or B pays larger amount as monthly wages?

(ii) Which firm, A or B, shows greater variability in individual wages?
22. The following is the record of goals scored by team A in a football session.

No. of goals scored 0 1 2 3 4

No. of matches 1 9 7 5 3

For the team B, mean number of goals scored per match was 2 with standard deviation
1.25 goals. Find which team may be considered more consistent?

23. The sum and sum of squares corresponding to length x (in cm) and weight y (in gm) of
50 plant products are given below.

Which is more varying, the length or weight?

24. The variance of 20 observations is 5. If each observation is multiplied by 2, find the new
variance of the resulting observations.
25. The mean of 5 observations is 4.4 and their variance is 8.24. If three of the observations
are 1, 2 and 6, find the other two observations.
26. If each of the observation is increased by ‘a’ where a is a negative or positive
number, show that the variance remains unchanged.
27. The mean and standard deviation of 100 observations were calculated as 40 and 5.1,
respectively by a student who took by mistake 50 instead of 40 for one observation. What
are the correct mean and standard deviation?
28. The mean and variance of eight observations are 9 and 9.25, respectively. If six of the
observations are 6, 7, 10, 12, 12 and 13, find the remaining two observations.
29. The mean and variance of 7 observations are 8 and 16, respectively. If five of the
observations are 2, 4 10, 12, 14. Find the remaining two observations.
30. The mean and standard deviation of six observations are 8 and 4, respectively. If each
observation is multiplied by 3, find the new mean and new standard deviation of the
resulting observations.
31. The mean and standard deviation of 20 observations are found to be 10 and 2,
respectively. On rechecking, it was found that an observation 8 was incorrect. Calculate
the correct mean and standard deviation in each of the following cases.
(i) If wrong item is omitted.
(ii) If it is replaced by 12.
32. The mean and standard deviation of marks obtained by 50 students of a class in three
subjects, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry are given below:

Subject Mathematics Physics Chemistry

Mean 42 32 40.9

Standard deviation 12 15 20

33. The mean and standard deviation of a group of 100 observations were found to be 20 and
3, respectively. Later on it was found that three observations were incorrect, which were
recorded as 21, 21 and 18. Find the mean and standard deviation if the incorrect
observations are omitted.

34. Find the range of the series

4, 2, 6, 8, 10
35. Find the range of the following distribution.

Age (in years) 16 – 18 18 – 20 20 – 22 22 – 24 24 – 26 26 – 28

No. of students 0 4 6 8 2 2
36. Calculate the range for the following series.
17, 10, 12, 8, 12, 16, 19
37. Find the value of range for the following frequency distribution.

Age (in years) 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

No. of students 1 2 2 2 6 4 0

38. Find the range for the following data #

Profit (,000 Rs) 0 – 10 10 – 20 20 – 30 30 – 40 40 – 50

No. of firms 0 6 0 7 15

39. Find the coefficient of range for the following data

Marks less than 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

No. of students 0 4 7 10 14 18 20

40. Compare the following series for variability:

Days M T W T F S

M.V. of shares Company X 48 47 46 49 43 45

(in Rs).

M.V. of shares of Company 10 9 12 12 14 12

Y (in Rs.)

41. Find the S.D. and C.V. for the following data
4, 6, 10, 12, 18
42. Calculate S.D. and C.V. for the following data

x 5 15 25 35 45 55

f 12 18 27 20 17 6

43. Calculate S.D. and C.V. for the following frequency distribution.
Class Frequency Class Frequency

4–8 11 24 – 28 9
8 – 12 13 28 – 32 17
12 – 16 16 32 – 36 6
 16 – 20 14 36 – 40 4
20 – 24 14

44. Find the C.V. of the following individual series.

2.76398, 4.76398, 6.76398, 8.76398, 12.76398, 10.76398
45. Find the value of coefficient of variation for the following frequency distribution.

Class 0–5 5 – 10 10 – 15 15 – 20 20 – 25

No. of items 20 24 32 28 20

Class 25 – 30 30 – 35 35 – 40 40 – 45

No. of items 16 34 10 16

46. The scores of two batsmen A and B for 20 innings are tabulated below. Which of the
two may be regarded as the more consistent batsman?
Score 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57

No. of A 1 0 0 4 3 6 3 3
innings
B 1 2 2 6 3 4 2 0

47. For the data given below, state which team (A or B) is, more consistent?
No. of goals scored in a match No. of matches

A B

0 27 1
1 9 5
2 8 8
3 5 9
4 1 27

48. For the following data, find out which group is more uniform:

Age group (years) No. of persons

Group A Group B

0 – 10 5 7
10 – 20 15 12
 20 – 30 20 22
30 – 40 25 30
40 – 50 18 20
50 – 60 10 5
60 – 70 7 4

49. The A.M. of the runs scored by three batsmen A, B and C, in the same series of 10
innings are 58, 48 and 12 respectively. The S.D. of their runs are respectively 15, 12 and
2. Who is the most consistent of the three? If one of these is to be selected, who will be
selected?
50. A student obtained the A.M. and S.D. of 100 observations as 40 and 5.1 respectively.
Later on, it was discovered that he had wrongly copied down an observation as 50
instead of 40. Calculate the correct value of S.D.
51. The following data give the A.M. and S.D. of three sub-groups. Calculate the A.M. and S.D. of
the combined group.

Sub – group No. of men Average wage (in Rs.) S.D. (in Rs.)

A 50 61 8
B 100 70 9
C 120 80.5 10

52. Find the missing information from the following.

Group A Group B Group C Combined Group

No. of items 50 ? 90 200

A.M. 113 ? 115 116
S.D. 6 7 ? 7.746

53. Find S.D. and C.V. for the following individual series
4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
54. Find the standard deviation for the following

Wages 50 – 60 60 – 70 70 – 80 80 – 90 90 – 100 100 – 110

(Rs.)

No. of 8 10 16 14 10 5
workers

55. From the data given below, state which series is more variable.
Variable 10 – 20 20 – 30 30 – 40 40 – 50 50 – 60 60 – 70
 Group A 10 18 32 22 40 18

Group B 18 22 40 18 32 10

56. In a cricket season, batsman A gets an average score of 64 runs per innings with a S.D.
of 18 runs, while batsman B gets an average score of 43 runs with a S.D. of 9 runs in a
about an equal number of innings. Discuss the efficiency and consistency of both the
batsmen.
57. Mean and standard deviation of 200 items are found to be 60 and 20. If at the time of
calculations two items are wrongly taken as 3 and 67 instead of 13 and 17, find the
correct mean and the standard deviation.
58. The mean and S.D. of 20 items is found to be 10 and 2 respectively. At the time of
checking, it was found that one item 8 was incorrect. Calculate the correct mean and
S.D., if
(i) the wrong item is omitted.
(ii) it is replaced by 12.
59. The analysis of the results of a budget survey of 150 families gave an average monthly
expenditure of Rs. 120 on food items with a S.D. of Rs. 15. After the analysis was
completed it was noticed that the figure recorded for one household was wrongly taken
as Rs. 15 instead of Rs. 105. Determine the correct value of the average expenditure and
its S.D.
60. For a group of 50 male workers, the mean and standard deviation of their weekly wages
are Rs. 63 and Rs 9 respectively. For a group of 40 female workers, these measures are
respectively Rs. 54 and Rs. 6. Find the S.D. for the combined group of 90 workers.
61. Following table gives height of boys and girls studying in a college.

Boys Girls

Number 72 38
Average height 68 inches 61 inches
Variance 9 inches 4 inches

Find the (i) S.D. of the height of boys and girls taken together and (ii) whose heights are
more variable.
62. In the following data, two class frequencies are missing.

Class Frequency Class Frequency

 100 – 110 4 150 – 160 –
110 – 120 7 160 – 170 16
120 – 130 15 170 – 180 10
130 – 140 – 180 – 190 6
140 – 150 40 190 – 200 3

However, it was possible to ascertain that the total number of items was 150 and that the
median has been correctly found out to be 146.25. You are required to find with the help
of the given information.
(i) two missing frequencies (ii) values of A.M. (iii) value of C.V.
63. The following data give the A.M. and S.D. of the three subgroups. Find the A.M. and S.D. of the
combined group.
Subgroup No. of men Average wage (in Rs.) S.D. (in Rs.)

A 150 20 2
B 150 10 3
C 200 12.5 4

ANSWERS
1. 33 2. 45.8, 6.77 3. 62, 201, 14.18 4. 6.12 5. 62, 201, 14.18 6. 9, 9.25

7. 8. 16. 5, 74.25 9. 19, 43. 4 10. 100, 29.09 11. 64, 1.69

12. 107, 2276 13. 27, 132 14. 93, 105.52, 10.27 15. 5.55, 43.5
16. Since means are equal & so the plant with greater standard deviation will
have more variability. Thus, the plant B has greater variability in the individual wages. 17.
18. (C.V.) in heights = 6.95 (C.V.) in weights = 9.18. Clearly C.V. in
weights is greater than the C.V. in heights. Therefore, we can say that weights show more
variability than heights. 19. B 20. Y 21. (i) B (ii) B 22. A 23. Weight 24.
25. x = 9, y = 4 or x = 4, y = 9 27. 39.9, 5 28. 4, 8 29. 6, 8 30. 24, 12 31. (i) 10.1, 1.99 (ii)
10.2, 1.98 32. Highest chemistry and lowest mathematics 33. 20, 3.036 34. 8 35. 10
36. 11 37. 5 years 38. Rs 40000 39. 0.75 40. Coeff. of Range (x) = 0.0652,Coeff. of Range
(y) = 0.2174 Variability is more in the second series. 41. 4.8989, 48.989% 42. 14.1067,
50.3811 % 43. 9.1146, 45.578% 44. 43.9942% 45. 57.9578%

46. C.V. for A = 3.0768%, C.V. for B = 3.0427% Since C.V. for A> CV for B Batsman B
is more consistent. 47. C.V. for A = 127.8295%. C.V. for B = 36.0545% Team B is
more consistent 48. C.V. for A = 45.5608%, C.V. for B = 43.8123% Group B is more
uniform 49. C.V.(A) = 25.86%, C.V. (B) = 25.00%, C.V(C) = 16.67% From this, we
conclude that player C is most consistent, whereas the average score is highest for A. If the
selection committee is to select the player on the basis of consistency of performance, then C
would be selected. If on the other hand, scoring of highest runs is the basis, then A would be
selected. 50. 5 51. 73, 11.8868 52. 53. SD = 0, CV = 0
54 14.5079 55. CV of A = 33.8496%, C.V. for B = 38.2442% Group B is more variable
56. CV of A = 28.125%, CV for B = 20.9302% If average is the criterion, then A is
efficient. If consistency is the criterion, then B is efficient. 57. 59.8, 20.0938
58. (i) Correct correct S.D. = 1.997 (ii) Correct correct S.D. = Rs
12.35 59. Correct AM = Rs. 120.60, correct S.D. = Rs 12.35 60. S.D. = Rs 9
61. (i) S.D. = 4.2839 inches (ii) C.V. for boys = 4.4118%, C.V. for girls = 3.2887% Heights
of boys are more variable 62. (i) 24, 25 (ii) AM = 147.3333 (iii) C.V. = 13.0302 63.
14, 5.1769.