Rachel's research has found waiting times at a hospital clinic have a mean of 35 minutes. However, some times are busier than others and waiting times vary from 5 minutes one day to 3 hours on another. What statistic will be best to describe the extent to which the waiting times in her data differ from the mean?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Standard deviation is the best statistic to describe how much the waiting times vary from the mean, as it measures the average distance of each data point from the mean.

Rachel's Research Has Found Waiting Times at a Hospital Clinic