What is the last step in the standard deviation calculation process?

The last step in the standard deviation calculation process is to take the square root of the variance. Standard deviation is a measure of how spread out the values in a data set are in relation to the mean. To calculate standard deviation, one typically follows these steps:

1. Find the mean of the data set.

2. Calculate the differences between each data point and the mean, and then square those differences.

3. Sum those squared differences to find the variance.

4. Finally, taking the square root of the variance yields the standard deviation.

The reason this step is crucial is that squaring the differences provides non-negative values, emphasizing larger deviations, while the square root step transforms the variance back into the original unit of measurement of the data. This makes the standard deviation directly interpretable and allows for meaningful comparisons to the mean. Thus, taking the square root of the variance is essential for arriving at the standard deviation value that represents the spread of the data.