The standard deviations of four data sets are shown in the table below. Which of the data sets is the most spread out?

\begin{tabular}{|c|c|}
\hline
Data set & Standard deviation \\
\hline
Data set A & 5.21 \\
\hline
Data set B & 4.88 \\
\hline
Data set C & 6.06 \\
\hline
Data set D & 3.39 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

A. Data set B
B. Data set D
C. Data set C
D. Data set A



Answer :

To determine which data set is the most spread out, we need to compare the standard deviations of the four data sets. The data set with the highest standard deviation will be the one that is the most spread out because standard deviation measures the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values.

Let's look at the given standard deviations:

- Data set A: 5.21
- Data set B: 4.88
- Data set C: 6.06
- Data set D: 3.39

To find the most spread out data set, we compare these values:

1. Compare 5.21 (A) and 4.88 (B): 5.21 > 4.88, so Data set A is more spread out than Data set B.
2. Compare 5.21 (A) and 6.06 (C): 6.06 > 5.21, so Data set C is more spread out than Data set A.
3. Compare 6.06 (C) and 3.39 (D): 6.06 > 3.39, so Data set C is more spread out than Data set D.

From these comparisons, you can see that the highest standard deviation is 6.06, which corresponds to Data set C.

Hence, the data set that is the most spread out is:

C. Data set C