Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

MEASURES OF
DISPERSION
D I S P E RS I O N
 Dispersion refers to the variations of the items
among themselves / around an average.

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

 Greater the variation amongst different items of

a series, the more will be the dispersion.

 As per Bowley, “Dispersion is a measure of the

variation of the items”.

O B J E C T I V E S O F M E A S U R I N G D I S P E RS I O N
 To determine the reliability of an average
 To compare the variability of two or more series

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

 For facilitating the use of other statistical

measures
 Basis of Statistical Quality Control
P RO P E RT I E S O F A G O O D M E A S U R E O F
D I S P E RS I O N
 Easy to understand
 Simple to calculate

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

 Uniquely defined

 Based on all observations

 Not affected by extreme observations

 Capable of further algebraic treatment

M E A S U R E S O F D I S P E RS I O N

Absolute Relative

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Expressed in the In the form of ratio
same units in or percentage, so
which data is is independent of
expressed units

It is also called
Ex: Rupees, Kgs,
Coefficient
Ltr, Km etc.
of
Dispersion
M E T H O D S O F M E A S U R I N G D I S P E RS I O N

R a nge

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Interquartile Range & Quartile Deviation

Mean Deviation

Standard Deviation

Coefficient of Variation

Lorenz Curve
R A N G E (R)
 It is the simplest measures of dispersion
 It is defined as the difference between the largest

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

and smallest values in the series
R=L–S
R = Range, L = Largest Value, S = Smallest Value
𝐿
Coefficient of Range = −𝑆
𝐿+


𝑆
P R AC T I C E P R O B L E M S – R A N G E
Q1: Find the range & Coefficient of Range for the
following data: 20, 35, 25, 30, 15

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Ans: 20, 0.4
Q2: Find the range & Coefficient of Range:
X 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
F 15 18 25 30 16 10 9

Ans: 60, 0.75

Q3: Find the range & Coefficient of Range:
Size 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-25 25-30
F 4 9 15 30 40

Ans: 25, 5/7

RANGE
MERITS DEMERITS

Can’t be calculated in

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

 Simple to understand 

 Easy to calculate open ended

 Widely used in distributions
 Not based on all the
statistical quality
control observations
 Affected by sampling

fluctuations
 Affected by extreme

values
QUARTILE
I N T E RQ UA RT I L E R A N G E &
Q UA RT I L E D E V I AT I O N
 Interquartile Range is the difference between the
upper quartile (Q3) and the lower quartile (Q1)
 It covers dispersion of middle 50% of the items of the

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

series
 Symbolically, Interquartile Range = Q 3 – Q 1

 Quartile Deviation is half of the interquartile range.

It is also called Semi Interquartile Range
 Symbolically, Quartile Deviation = 𝑄3 −𝑄
2
1

 Coefficient of Quartile Deviation: It is the relative

measure of quartile deviation.
𝑄 3 −𝑄1
𝑄3+𝑄
 Coefficient of Q.D. =
1

Q1 = [(n+1)/4]th item
Q2 = [(n+1)/2]th item
Q 3= [3(n+1)/4]th item
P R AC T I C E P R O B L E M S – I QR & Q D
Q1: Find interquartile range, quartile deviation
and coefficient of quartile deviation:

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

28, 18, 20, 24, 27, 30, 15 Ans: 10, 5, 0.217
Q2: X 10 20 30 40 50 60
F 2 8 20 35 42 20

Ans: 10, 5, 0.11

Q3: Age 0-20 20-40 40-60 60-80 80-100
Persons 4 10 15 20 11

Ans: 14.33, 0.19

M E A N D E V I AT I O N (M.D.)
 It is also called Average Deviation
 It is defined as the arithmetic average of the

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

deviation of the various items of a series
computed from measures of central tendency like
mean or median.
Σ |𝑋 −𝑀| Σ
M.D. from Median = or �


|𝑑𝑀�
Σ |𝑋 | � Σ
�

−𝑋|� or |𝑑 | 𝑋
 M.D. from Mean =

�𝑀.𝐷
�

.𝑀
𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖
 Coefficient of M.D . �
M
= 𝑎𝑛
𝑀.𝐷.
𝑋
Coefficient of M.D. 𝑋
𝑀𝑒 𝑎 𝑛


=
P R AC T I C E P R O B L E M S – M E A N D E V I AT I O N
Q1: Calculate M.D. from Mean & Median &
coefficient of Mean Deviation from the following
data: 20, 22, 25, 38, 40, 50, 65, 70, 75

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Ans: 17.78, 17.22, 0.39,0.43
Q2: X: 20 30 40 50 60 70
f: 8 12 20 10 6 4

Ans: 10.67, 10.33, 0.26, 0.26

Q3: Calculate M.D. from Mean & its coefficient:
X: 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50
f: 5 8 15 16 6

Ans: 9.44, 0.349

M E A N D E V I AT I O N – S H O RT C U T M E T H O D
 If value of the average comes out to be in
fractions, the calculation of M.D. by Σ |𝑋
𝑁
−𝑋|

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

would
become quite tedious. In such cases, the
following
formula Σ𝑓𝑋 𝐴 − Σ𝑓𝑋 𝐵 −
is used: Σ𝑓 𝐴
− Σ𝑓 𝑋 𝑜𝑟 𝑀 �
 M.D. = �
�
�
P R AC T I C E P R O B L E M S – S H O RT C U T M E T H O D
Q4: Calculate M.D. from Mean & Median using
shortcut method: 7, 9, 13, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Ans: 4.25, 4.22
Q5: Calculate M.D. from Mean & Median &
coefficient of Mean Deviation from the following
data:
X: 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50
f: 6 28 51 11 4

Ans: 6.57, 0.29, 6.5, 0.28

M E A N D E V I AT I O N
Merits Demerits

 Simple to understand  Ignoring ‘±’ signs are not

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

 Easy to compute appropriate
 Less effected by extreme  Not accurate for Mode
items  Difficult to calculate if
 Useful in fields like value of Mean or
Economics, Commerce Median comes in
etc.
fractions
 Comparisons about
formation of different
 Not capable of further
series can be easily algebraic treatment
made as deviations are  Not used in statistical
taken from a central conclusions.
value
S TA N DA R D D E V I AT I O N
 Most important & widely used measure of
dispersion

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

 First used by Karl Pearson in 1893

 Also called root mean square deviations

 It is defined as the square root of the arithmetic

mean of the squares of the deviation of the values

taken from the mean
 Denoted by σ (sigma)

or 2 where x = 𝑋 −
Σ 𝑋− 2
Σ𝑥
𝑋 𝑁
𝑋
 σ
= 𝑁
 Coefficient of S.D. =
σ
𝑋
C A L C U L AT I O N O F S TA N DA R D D E V I AT I O N

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Individual Discrete Continuous
Series Series Series
• Actual • Actual • Actual Mean
Mean Mean Method
Method Method • Assumed Mean
• Assumed Mean • Assumed Mean Method
Method Method • Step Deviation
• Method based • Step Deviation Method
on Actual Data Method
S TA N DA R D D E V I AT I O N – I N D I V I D UA L S E R I E S
A C T UA L M E A N M E T H O D

where x = 𝑋 −
Σ 𝑋− 2
Σ𝑥
𝑋 �
𝑋
σ or 2

�
= � �

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Q1: Calculate the S D of the following data:
16, 20, 18, 19, 20, 20, 28, 17, 22, 20
Ans: 3.13
S TA N DA R D D E V I AT I O N – I N D I V I D UA L S E R I E S
A S S U M E D M E A N / S H O RT C U T M E T H O D

where d = 𝑋
Σ𝑑 2 2
Σ𝑑
𝑁
− −𝐴
 σ=
𝑁

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Q2: Calculate the S D of the following data:
7, 10, 12, 13, 15, 20, 21, 28, 29, 35
Ans: 8.76
S TA N DA R D D E V I AT I O N – I N D I V I D UA L S E R I E S
M E T H O D B A S E D O N U S E O F A C T UA L D ATA
Σ𝑋 2 2
Σ𝑋
𝑁
−
 σ=
𝑁

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Q3: Calculate the S D of the following data:
16, 20, 18, 19, 20, 20, 28, 17, 22, 20
Ans: 3.13
S TA N DA R D D E V I AT I O N – D I S C R E T E
S E R I E S A C T UA L M E A N M E T H O D

x = 𝑋−
Σ𝑓 𝑋 − 2
Σ𝑓𝑥
𝑋 �
� 𝑋
σ or 2 where

�
= �

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Q4: Calculate the S D of the following data:
X: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
F: 7 8 10 12 4 3 2

Ans: 1.602
S TA N DA R D D E V I AT I O N – D I S C R E T E
S E R I E S A S S U M E D M E A N / S H O RTC U T
M ETHOD
where d = 𝑋
Σ𝑓𝑑 2 2
Σ𝑓𝑑
𝑁
− −𝐴
 σ=
𝑁

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Q5: Calculate the S D of the following data:

Ans: 1.602
S TA N DA R D D E V I AT I O N – D I S C R E T E
S E R I E S S T E P D E V I AT I O N M E T H O D

𝑥 𝑖 where d’
Σ𝑓 𝑑′ 2 2 𝑋
Σ𝑓
𝑁𝑑 ′ −𝐴𝑖
−
 σ=
𝑁 =

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Q6: Calculate the S D of the following data:
X 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
F: 3 5 7 9 8 5 3
Ans: 16.5
S TA N DA R D D E V I AT I O N – C O N T I N U O U S S E R I E S
S T E P D E V I AT I O N M E T H O D
Σ𝑓 𝑑′ 2 2 𝑋
Σ𝑓
𝑁𝑑 ′ −𝐴𝑖
−
 σ= x i where d’ =
𝑁

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Q7: Calculate the Mean & S D of the following data:
X 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80
F: 5 10 20 40 30 20 10 4
Ans: 39.38, 15.69
VARIANCE
 It is another measure of dispersion
 It is the square of the Standard Deviation

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

 Variance = (SD) 2 = σ2

Q8: Calculate the Mean & Variance:

X: 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50
F: 2 7 10 5 3

Ans: 25, 118.51

C O M B I N E D S TA N DA R D D E V I AT I O N
 It is the combined standard deviation of two or
more groups as in case of combined arithmetic
mean

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

2 𝑁 σ
+𝑁 𝑑 21+𝑁
2
1 2
σ1 22+𝑁 2𝑑1
It is denoted by σ12 = 2
𝑁1+𝑁2


where σ12 = Combined S D

σ1 = S D of first
group
σ2 = S D of second group
d1 = 𝑋1 − 𝑋12
d2 = 𝑋2 −
𝑋12
P R AC T I C E P R O B L E M S
Q9: Two samples of sizes 100 & 150 respectively
have means 50 & 60 and S D 5 & 6. Find the
Combined Mean & Combined Standard Deviation.

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

Ans: 56, 7.46
I M P O RTA N T P R AC T I C E P R O B L E M S
Q10: The mean weight of 150 students is 60 kg. The
mean weight of boys is 70 kg with S D of 10 kg. The
mean weight of girls is 55 kg with S D of 15 kg. Find

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

the number of boys & girls and their combined
standard deviation.
Ans: 50, 100, 15.28
Q11: Find the missing information from the following:
Group I Group II Group III Combined
Number 50 ? 90 200
SD 6 7 ? 7.746
Mean 113 ? 115 116

Ans: 60, 120, 8

I M P O RTA N T P R AC T I C E P R O B L E M S
Q12: For a group of 100 observations, the mean & S D
were found to be 60 & 5 respectively. Later on, it was
discovered that a correct item 50 was wrongly copied as

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

30. Find the correct mean & correct S D.
Ans: 60.20, 4.12
Q13: The mean, S D and range of a symmetrical
distribution of weights of a group of 20 boys are 40 kgs,
5 kgs and 6 kgs respectively. Find the mean & S D of the
group if the lightest and the heaviest boys are excluded.
Ans: 40, 5.17
Q14: The mean of 5 observations is 4.4 and the variance
is 8.24. If three observations are 4,6 and 9, find the
other two.
Ans: 1, 2
C O E F F I C I E N T O F V A RI AT I O N (C.V.)
 It was developed by Karl Pearson.
 It is an important relative measure of dispersion.

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

 It is used in comparing the variability,

homogeneity, stability, uniformity & consistency

of two or more series.
 Higher the C V, lesser the consistency.
𝜎
�
 C . V. = x
100 �
P R AC T I C E P R O B L E M S
Q1: The scores of two batsmen A & B in ten innings during a
certain match are:
A 32 28 47 63 71 39 10 60 96 14

Birinder Singh, Assistant Professor, P C T E

B 19 31 48 53 67 90 10 62 40 80

Ans: B, B
Q2: Goals scored by two teams A & B in a football session were
as follows:
No. of goals scored 0 1 2 3 4
No. of matches by A 27 9 8 5 4
No. of matches by B 17 9 6 5 3
Ans: B

Q3: Sum of squares of items is 2430 with mean 7 & N =

coefficient
12. Find of variation. Ans: 176.85%