MATH SKILLS FOR A LEVEL BIO

Question 1

Standard deviation

Answer 1

measure of how spread out all your repeats are from the mean.

Question 2

advantage of using sd instead of range

Answer 2

1. sd shows spread of data around the mean whereas range is only difference between highest and lowest value.
2. s.d reduces the effect of anomalies whereas mean includes anpmalies
3. sd can be used to indicate whether a difference between results is significant.

Question 3

knowing standard deviation for a conclusion

Answer 3

• when you add or minus sd from mean and there is no overlap it is likely to be a significant difference.
• when you add or minus sd from mean and there is an overlapping, it is likely to be not significant difference between those means.