Two normal distributions are compared. One has a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 10. The second normal distribution has a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 2. Which of the following is true?
A)The locations of the distributions are different.
B)The distributions are from two different families of distributions.
C)The dispersions of the distributions are different.
D)The dispersions of the distributions are the same.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The standard deviation measures the dispersion of the data around the mean. Since the standard deviation of the second normal distribution (2) is smaller than the first normal distribution (10), it means that the data in the second distribution is less spread out around the mean than the data in the first distribution. Therefore, the dispersions of the two distributions are different.

Two Normal Distributions Are Compared