The Purpose of Deriving a Standard Deviation of a Distribution

question 29

Multiple Choice

The purpose of deriving a standard deviation of a distribution is

• A) to average all the scores in a distribution.
• B) to determine the central value of the scores in a distribution.
• C) to determine the dispersion of scores around the mean of a distribution.
• D) to determine the range of scores in each of the quartiles of a distribution.

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Definitions:

Producer

Organisms, typically plants, that produce their own food through the process of photosynthesis, serving as a primary source of energy in a food chain.

Nitrogen

A chemical element, denoted by N, which is a vital component of amino acids and nucleic acids.

Ammonium

A positively charged ion (NH4+) formed by the addition of a hydrogen ion to ammonia, important in nitrogen metabolism.

Nitrate

A polyatomic ion with the chemical formula NO3-, commonly found in fertilizers and an essential nutrient for plant growth.