As of September 30,2011,the earnings per share,EPS,of five firms in the biotechnology industry are as follows: The sample mean and the sample standard deviation are closest to:
A)Option A
B)Option B
C)Option C
D)Option D

Question

As of September 30,2011,the earnings per share,EPS,of five firms in the biotechnology industry are as follows:  The sample mean and the sample standard deviation are closest to: 
A)Option A 
B)Option B 
C)Option C 
D)Option D

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The sample mean can be calculated by taking the average of the EPS values, which is (1.2+1.4+2.3+3.1+3.5)/5 = 2.5. The sample standard deviation can be calculated using the formula sqrt(sum((x-mean)^2)/(n-1)), which gives us sqrt(((1.2-2.5)^2+(1.4-2.5)^2+(2.3-2.5)^2+(3.1-2.5)^2+(3.5-2.5)^2)/4) = sqrt(2.1) = 1.45 (rounded to two decimal places). Option B is the closest to these values.

As of September 30,2011,the Earnings Per Share,EPS,of Five Firms in the Biotechnology