Alarge standard deviationtells us that there is a lot ofvariabilityin the scores; that is, the distribution of scores is spread out and not clustered aroundthe mean.As Kozak (2104) has stated, when assessing potential pilots, we may want a large standard deviation, so that we candifferentiatebetween candidates; that is, we can determine who would be good pilots and those who would not be good pilots. Since a large standard deviationtells us that there is a lot ofvariabilityin the scores, candidates, whowould be good pilots, would havescores far above the mean, while those who would not be good pilotswould have scoresfarbelow the mean. Thus, only the "top" candidates would be selected to be pilots.

Asmall standard deviationtells us that there is not a lot of variability in a distribution of scores; that is, the scores arevery consistent (similar)and close to the mean. Using our pilot example, a small standard deviation is desirable, when considering aircraft landing distances. If there is not enough distance when landing, the aircraft could undershoot the runway; that is, land short of the runway. On the other hand, if there is too much distance, the aircraft can overshoot the runway; that is, the aircraft does not stop before the end of the runway. Both undershooting andovershooting runways could result in injuries and/or fatalities. Thus, it is important that pilotshave consistent accurate landingdistances. Specifically, over a number of landings, the distances would, on average, be appropriate to the runway length with little variation among the distances.

Now think about how this might apply in your chosen field and answer both of the following questions:

• What is an example of when you would want consistent data and, therefore, a small standard deviation?
• What is an example of when you might want a large standard deviation? That is, data that is more spread out?

I'm a full time student and stay at home expecting mom who also has 7 pets, so i'm struggling with how to apply this to my life. I was thinking for consistent data I need, the small standard deviation, I could say the amount rate at which my pets finish their bag of each of their foods. For example how long it take the two bunnies to go through their bag of food, how long it take the three cats get through their bag of food, and how long it takes the dogs to get through their bag of food, so I know when to time my food delivery cycles since I purchase it online. Would that be correct?

But I can't think of what to use for the large standard deviation.