Standard deviation is a/an _______.

The correct answer is the Average amount of variation around the mean:

Key Points

• Standard Deviation:
  • ​A standard deviation (or σ) is a measure of the variation of the data in relation to the mean.
  • A low standard deviation means data are clustered around the mean, and a high standard deviation indicates data are more spread out.
  • Standard deviation is calculated by taking the square root of a value derived from comparing data points to a collective mean of a population.
  • The square of the standard deviation is called the variance.​

Additional Information

• Variance:
  • ​Variance is the measure of how notably a collection of data is spread out.
• Mean:
  • Mean represents the average of the given collection of data. It is applicable for both continuous and discrete data.
• Median:
  • It represents the mid-value of the given set of data when arranged in a particular order.
• Mode:
  • The most frequent number occurring in the data set is known as the mode.
• Quartile Deviation:
  • ​Quartile Deviation can be defined mathematically as half of the difference between the upper and lower quartile.