PRACTICAL EXERCISE 2
AIM:
To calculate the Standard Deviation of daily temperatures for two different cities to compare their
weather stability (consistency) using spreadsheet functions.
SOFTWARE USED:
LibreOffice Calc / Microsoft Excel
PROBLEM STATEMENT:
You are provided with the maximum daily temperatures (in °C) of two cities, City A and City B, recorded
over one week.
1. Calculate the Average (Mean) temperature for both cities.
2. Calculate the Standard Deviation for both cities.
3. Determine which city has more stable/consistent weather (i.e., lower variation).
INPUT DATA:
(Enter this data into columns A, B, and C of your spreadsheet)
Row Column A (Day) Column B (City A Temp °C) Column C (City B Temp °C)
1 Day City A City B
2 Monday 30 22
3 Tuesday 31 38
4 Wednesday 29 20
5 Thursday 30 35
6 Friday 31 25
7 Saturday 30 39
8 Sunday 29 21
PROCEDURE:
1. Enter Data: Open a new sheet and type the table above into cells A1 to C8.
2. Label Outputs:
o In cell A10, type: Mean Temperature
o In cell A11, type: Standard Deviation
3. Calculate Mean (Average):
o For City A: Click cell B10 and type: =AVERAGE(B2:B8)
o For City B: Click cell C10 and type: =AVERAGE(C2:C8)
4. Calculate Standard Deviation:
o For City A: Click cell B11 and type: =STDEV.S(B2:B8)
(Note: You can also use =STDEV(B2:B8) in older versions)
o For City B: Click cell C11 and type: =STDEV.S(C2:C8)
5. Format Cells: Decrease the decimal places to 2 digits (Format > Cells > Numbers) for clearer
reading.
OBSERVATION / RESULT:
Parameter Formula Used City A Result City B Result
Mean =AVERAGE(range) 30.00 28.57
Standard Deviation =STDEV.S(range) 0.82 8.20
(Student must paste a screenshot of the spreadsheet here showing the calculated values)
INTERPRETATION (Essential for Full Marks):
Comparison of Means: Both cities have a similar average temperature (around 28-30°C). If we
only looked at the average, we might think their weather is similar.
Comparison of Standard Deviation:
o City A (SD = 0.82): The standard deviation is very low, meaning the temperature hardly
changes from day to day. The weather is predictable and consistent.
o City B (SD = 8.20): The standard deviation is high, meaning the temperature fluctuates
wildly (from 20°C to 39°C). The weather is volatile and inconsistent.
Conclusion: City A has more consistent weather than City B.
VIVA VOCE QUESTIONS (For Preparation):
1. Q: What does a high Standard Deviation indicate?
o A: It indicates that the data points are spread out over a wide range of values, meaning
the data is volatile or less consistent.
2. Q: If all the data points in a list are the same (e.g., 5, 5, 5, 5), what will the Standard Deviation
be?
o A: It will be Zero (0), because there is no variation or deviation from the mean.
3. Q: Why did we use STDEV.S instead of STDEV.P?
o A: We used STDEV.S (Sample) because we only have data for one week (a sample), not
the entire history of the city's weather (the population).