Calculating the Variance of 5 - 2x when the Standard Deviation of x is 3
Understanding Standard Deviation and Variance
Before we dive into the calculation of the variance of 5 - 2x, let's understand what standard deviation and variance mean.
- Standard deviation: It is a measure of how spread out the data is from the mean. A low standard deviation indicates that the data is clustered around the mean, while a high standard deviation indicates that the data is more spread out.
- Variance: It is the square of the standard deviation. It represents the average of the squared differences from the mean.
Calculating the Variance of 5 - 2x
Now, let's calculate the variance of 5 - 2x when the standard deviation of x is 3.
First, we need to find the variance of x. We know that:
- Standard deviation of x = 3
- Variance of x = (standard deviation of x)^2 = 3^2 = 9
Now, let's use the formula for the variance of a constant times a random variable:
Var(aX) = a^2 Var(X)
Here, X is the random variable, which is x in our case, and a is a constant, which is -2 in our case.
So, we can write:
Var(5 - 2x) = (-2)^2 Var(x) = 4 Var(x) = 4 * 9 = 36
Therefore, the variance of 5 - 2x is 36.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that the variance of 5 - 2x when the standard deviation of x is 3 is 36. We calculated this by finding the variance of x, using the formula for the variance of a constant times a random variable, and substituting the values in the formula.