$$Standard deviation is a measure of which one of the following?$$

• A. $$The skewness of a data distribution$$
• B. $$The central tendency of a data set$$
• C. $$The spread or dispersion of a data set around its mean$$
• D. $$The relationship between two variables$$

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that standard deviation is a statistical measure used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of data values.
2. Recall that central tendency refers to measures like mean, median, and mode, which describe the center of a data set, not its spread.
3. Recognize that skewness measures the asymmetry of the data distribution, which is different from how spread out the data is.
4. Know that the relationship between two variables is typically measured by correlation or covariance, not standard deviation.
5. Conclude that standard deviation specifically measures how much the data values deviate from the mean, indicating the spread or dispersion of the data set.