Module 10

1

LESSON 2
Measures of Variability of Ungrouped Data









Measures of Variability
Measures of Variability is a single value that is used to describe the spread out of the
scores in the distribution that is above or below the measures of central tendency. There are three
commonly used measures of variability, the range, quartile deviation and the standard deviation.
The Range
Range is the difference between highest score and lowest score in the data set.
R=HS-LS
Properties of Range
1. Simplest and crudest measure.
2. A rough measure of variation.
3. The smaller the value, the closer the scores to each other or the larger the value, the
more scattered the scores are.
4. The value easily fluctuate, meaning if there is changes in either the highest score or
lowest score the value of range easily changes.
Learning Objectives:
To be able to know how to assess the future students through the measures of variability.
To know how to get the range, variance, and standard deviation.
Apply those knowledge in future field of profession.



Module 10
2


Example: Scores of 10 students in Mathematics and Science. Find the range and in what
subject has a greater variability?
Mathematics Science
35 35
33 40
45 25
55 47
62 55
34 35
54 45
36 57
47 39
40 52

Mathematics Science
HS=62 HS=57
LS=33 LS=25
R =HS-LS R=HS-LS
R =62-33 =57-25
R=29 R=32
Based from the computed value of range, the scores in Science have greater variability.
Meaning, scores in Science are more scattered than in the scores in Mathematics.

Module 10
3

The Quartile Deviation
Quartile Deviation is the half of the difference between the third quartile (

)
and the first quartile(

) . It is based on the middle 50% of the range, instead the range of the
entire set of distribution. In symbol, QD= where,
QD= quartile deviation
Q= third quartile value
Q= first quartile value
Example: In a score of 50 students, the Q =25.45, Find the QD.
QD =12.4
The value of QD =22.4 which indicates the distance we need to go or below the median to
include approximately the middle 50% of the scores.

The Standard Deviation
The standard deviation is the most and useful measures of variation, it is the square root of the
variance. It is an average of the degree to which each set of scores in the distribution deviates
from the mean value. It is more stable measures of variation because it involves all the scores in a
distribution rather than range and quartile deviation.

where, x= individual score
n= number of score in a distribution
Example: 1. Find the standard deviation of the scores of 10 students in algebra quiz. Using
the given data below.
x mean ( x-mean)

Module 10
4

45 48.5 12.25
35 182.25
48 0.25
60 132.25
44 20.25
39 90.25
47 2.25
55 42.25
58 90.25
54 30.25
Mean=48.5
SD =8.18, this means that on the average the amount that deviates from the mean value =
48.5 is 8.18.
Example 2: Find the standard deviation of the score of 10 students below. In what subject
has greater variability?

Mathematics Science
35 35
33 40
45 25
55 47
62 55

Module 10
5

34 35
54 45
36 57
47 39
40 52

Solve for the standard deviation of the scores in Mathematics.
Mathematics (x-mean)
35 82.81
33 123.21
45 0.81
55 118.81
62 320.41
34 102.01
54 98.01
36 65.61
47 8.41
40 16.81
=441 ( )

Mean=44.1 ( )

SD= 10.20, for mathematics subject

Solve for the standard deviation of the scores in science

Module 10
6

Science (x) (x-mean)
35 64
40 9
25 324
47 16
55 144
35 64
45 4
57 196
39 16
52 81

Mean=43
SD= 10.10 for science subject
The standard deviation for mathematics subject is 10.20 and the standard deviation for
science subject is 10.10, which means that mathematics scores has a greater variability than
science scores. In other words, the scores in mathematics are more scattered than in science

Interpretation of Standard Deviation
When the value of standard deviation is large, on the average, the scores will be far from
the mean. On the other hand, if the value of standard deviation is small, on the average, the
scores will be close from the mean.
Coefficient of Variation

Module 10
7

Coefficient of variation is a measure of relative variation expressed as a percentage of the
arithmetic mean. It is used to compare the variability of two or more sets of data even when the
observations are expressed in different units of measurement. Coefficient of variation can be
solved using the formula,