How to Calculate Standard Deviation in Google Sheets
Calculating standard deviation is an important part of data analysis, as it helps to understand how far the data points are from the mean. In Google Sheets, calculating standard deviation can be done with a simple formula.
The formula for calculating standard deviation in Google Sheets is as follows:
=STDEV(range)
Where range is the range of cells that contain the data for which standard deviation is to be calculated. For example, if the data is in cells A1 through A10, the formula would be:
= STDEV(A1:A10)
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to calculate standard deviation in Google Sheets:
Step 1: Open Google Sheets
Open Google Sheets in your browser and create a new spreadsheet or open an existing one.
Step 2: Enter the data
Enter the data for which standard deviation is to be calculated in a column. For example, let’s say we have data for the weight of 10 people:
Step 3: Calculate the mean
Before calculating the standard deviation, we need to calculate the mean of the data. To do this:
1. Enter the formula =AVERAGE(range) in any empty cell, where range is the range of cells containing the data.
2. Press Enter to calculate the mean.
Step 4: Calculate the standard deviation
Once we have the mean, we can calculate the standard deviation using the formula mentioned above.
1. Enter the formula =STDEV(range) in an empty cell, where range is the range of cells containing the data.
2. Press Enter to calculate the standard deviation.
In our example, the formula will be:
=STDEV(B2:B11)
This will give us the standard deviation of the data.
Step 5: Format the cell
To make the standard deviation more readable, we can format the cell by selecting it and clicking on the “Format” tab. From here, we can choose the number of decimal places we want to display.
And that’s it! We have calculated the standard deviation in Google Sheets. Standard deviation can be a valuable tool for statistical analysis, and Google Sheets makes it easy to calculate with just a few simple steps.