What is the fourth step in calculating standard deviation?

The fourth step in calculating standard deviation is to sum the squared differences. This step is crucial for obtaining the variance, which is an intermediate result used in the final calculation of the standard deviation. Previously, you would have calculated the mean, determined the differences between each data point and the mean, and squared those differences. By summing these squared differences, you create a single value that represents the overall variability of the dataset.

This step plays a pivotal role, as it moves the calculation towards understanding how spread out the data points are concerning the mean. The summed squared differences will then be used in subsequent steps to calculate the variance, which is essential in order to find the standard deviation through the final steps, which involve dividing by the sample size and taking the square root. Each step in this process builds on the last to provide a comprehensive measure of dispersion within a dataset.