Here is a guide on how to calculate the standard deviation in a collection of data.
Excel Instruction
Calculating the Standard Deviation
- 1.
- Enter all the data values into
Excel. - 2.
- Choose an empty cell and enter the
Excelcommand=STDEV(
- 3.
- Highlight the range of cells containing the data and press
Enter. You have now found the standard deviation of the data!
Example 1
The Ukrainian national gymnastics team members Anoushka, Alexandra, Triana, Mirella, Jana and Fiona are all good friends. Anoushka is tall, Alexandra is tall, Triana is tall, Mirella is tall, Jana is tall and Fiona is tall. Find the standard deviation of the girls’ heights.
- 1.
- Enter the heights of the gymnasts in
Excel. - 2.
- Click on an empty cell and write the formula:
=STDEV(
- 3.
- Highlight all the cells containing the gymnasts’ heights and press
Enter. You’ll get the following table:With formulas:
You can now see that the standard deviation of the gymnasts’ heights is cm.
