Calculate s^2 & s: Intro to Stats Guide

[matrix_204]

I was just wondering, this is a simple question, but i have started intro to stats, lol, but anyways i was wondering what s^2 and s is, like i was given a sample size and some observations. Now i was asked to calculate s^2 and s, how do i do that, and what is s^2 and s?

 

[jamesrc]

s is sample standard deviation and s² is sample variance. Here's one description: http://www.quickmba.com/stats/standard-deviation/. Computationally, they are only different from the population variance and standard deviaion by their denominators ((N-1) instead of N).

 

[tacman]

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out with your question about calculating s^2 and s in your Intro to Stats course. These are important measures of variability and understanding how to calculate them is essential in statistics.

First, let's define what s^2 and s represent. s^2 is the sample variance and s is the sample standard deviation. They are both measures of how spread out the data is from the mean. In other words, they tell us how much the individual data points differ from the average.

To calculate s^2, you will need to follow these steps:

1. Calculate the mean of the sample by adding all the observations and dividing by the sample size.

2. Subtract the mean from each observation.

3. Square each of these differences.

4. Add up all the squared differences.

5. Divide this sum by the sample size minus 1 (n-1).

This final number is s^2, the sample variance.

To calculate s, you will simply take the square root of s^2. This gives you the sample standard deviation.

It may seem confusing at first, but with practice, it will become easier to calculate these measures. I recommend practicing with different sample sizes and observations to become more comfortable with the calculations.

I hope this helps clarify the concept of s^2 and s for you. Best of luck in your Intro to Stats course!