A study of business faculty in Ontario revealed that the arithmetic mean annual salary is $72,000 and a standard deviation of $3,000. The study also showed that the faculty had been employed an average (arithmetic mean) of 15 years with a standard deviation of 4 years. How does the relative dispersion in the distribution of salaries compare with that of the lengths of service?
A) Salaries about 100%, service about 50%
B) Salaries about 4%, service about 27%
C) Salaries about 42%, service about 81%
D) Salaries about 2%, service about 6%

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Relative dispersion is calculated as the standard deviation divided by the mean, often expressed as a percentage. For salaries, the relative dispersion is $3,000 / $72,000 = 0.0417 or about 4%. For service years, it's 4 years / 15 years = 0.2667 or about 27%.

A Study of Business Faculty in Ontario Revealed That the Arithmetic