Final answer:
The standard deviation is a measure of how data is spread from the mean.
Step-by-step explanation:
The standard deviation for the given sample data can be calculated using the formula:
Standard Deviation (s) = √Variance
where Variance is calculated by first finding the sum of the squared differences between each data point and the mean, then dividing that sum by the number of data points minus 1. Finally, take the square root of the variance to get the standard deviation.
For example, if the given data points are: 5, 8, 4, 6, 9, the mean is (5+8+4+6+9)/5 = 6.4. The squared differences between each data point and the mean are: (5-6.4)^2, (8-6.4)^2, (4-6.4)^2, (6-6.4)^2, (9-6.4)^2. The sum of these squared differences is 19.2. The variance is 19.2/(5-1) = 19.2/4 = 4.8. Finally, the standard deviation is √4.8 = 2.19, rounded to two decimal places, s = 2.2.