What is the advantage of the standard deviation over the average deviation?
A) Because the standard deviation requires squaring of deviations before further computation, positive and negative deviations do not cancel out.
B) Because the standard deviation does not require squaring of deviations, it is easy to tell whether deviations are positive or negative.
C) The standard deviation removes the units from the calculation, and delivers a pure number.
D) The standard deviation expresses the average deviation in percentage terms, so that different choices can be more easily compared.
E) The standard deviation transforms subjective probabilities into objective ones so that calculations can be performed.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The advantage of the standard deviation over the average deviation is that because the standard deviation requires squaring of deviations before further computation, positive and negative deviations do not cancel out. This means that the standard deviation is a more accurate measure of dispersion or variability in a data set.

What Is the Advantage of the Standard Deviation Over the Average