What is one statement that describes standard deviation?

• A. The maximum minus minimum
• B. The sum of squared deviations
• C. The measure of the distance away from the mean
• D. The average of the data values

Answer: (C)

Standard deviation measures how spread out the data are by quantifying how far each value tends to be from the mean. It captures the typical distance from the mean, so data that cluster tightly around the average have a small standard deviation, while more spread-out data have a larger one. This differs from the maximum minus minimum, which is just the range between the endpoints; from the sum of squared deviations, which is used to compute variance rather than describe a spread directly; and from the average, which is the central value itself, not a measure of spread.