Descriptive Statistics in Excel InstructionsExample Dataset:

Let's consider a hypothetical dataset containing the number of hours of study (in hours) for a group of students:7, 5, 6, 8, 5, 7, 6, 7, 9, 6

Step 1. Calculate the Mean (Average):

Step 1: Enter your data in a column (e.g., A1:A10).

Step 2: In an empty cell, type the formula =AVERAGE(A1:A10).

Step 3: Press Enter to calculate the mean.

Algebraic Equation: The mean () is calculated as the sum of all values (X) divided by the number of values (N): = X / N.

Result: The mean hours of study for students is 6.8 hours.

2. Calculate the Median:

Step 1: Enter your data in a column (e.g., A1:A10).

Step 2: In an empty cell, type the formula =MEDIAN(A1:A10).

Step 3: Press Enter to calculate the median.

Algebraic Equation: The median is the middle value when the data is sorted. If there is an even number of values, it's the average of the two middle values.

Result: The median hours of study for students is 6.5 hours.

3. Calculate the Mode:

Step 1: Enter your data in a column (e.g., A1:A10).

Step 2: In an empty cell, type the formula =MODE.SNGL(A1:A10).

Step 3: Press Enter to calculate the mode.

Algebraic Equation: The mode is the value(s) that appear most frequently in the dataset.

Result: The mode hours of study for students is 6 hours.

4. Calculate the Range:

Step 1: Enter your data in a column (e.g., A1:A10).

Step 2: In an empty cell, type the formula =MAX(A1:A10) - MIN(A1:A10).

Step 3: Press Enter to calculate the range.Algebraic Equation: The range is the difference between the maximum and minimum values in the dataset.

Result: The range of hours of study for students is 4 hours.

5. Calculate the Standard Deviation:Step

1: Enter your data in a column (e.g., A1:A10).

Step 2: In an empty cell, type the formula =STDEV.P(A1:A10).

Step 3: Press Enter to calculate the standard deviation.

Algebraic Equation: The standard deviation () measures the average amount of variation or dispersion in the data.

Result: The standard deviation of hours of study for students is approximately 1.41 hours.

6. Calculate Variance:

Step 1: Enter your data in a column (e.g., A1:A10).

Step 2: In an empty cell, type the formula =VAR.P(A1:A10).

Step 3: Press Enter to calculate the variance.

Algebraic Equation: The variance (^2) is the square of the standard deviation.

Result: The variance of hours of study for students is approximately 2.00 hours^2.

Create a Frequency Distribution:

A frequency distribution shows the number of times each value appears in your dataset.

Step 1: Prepare your data in a column (e.g., A1:A10).

Step 2: In an empty cell, enter the unique values from your dataset. You may manually list them or use Excel's Data tab to remove duplicates.

Step 3: In the adjacent column, label it "Frequency."

Step 4: In the first cell under "Frequency," enter the formula =COUNTIF(A1:A10, B1) where A1:A10 is your data range, and B1 is the first unique value.

Step 5: Drag the fill handle (a small square at the lower right corner of the cell) down to fill the formula for all unique values.

Step 6: You've created a frequency distribution, which shows the count of each unique value in your dataset.

Create a Histogram:

A histogram is a graphical representation of the frequency distribution, displaying data in bins or intervals.

Step 1: Select the range of unique values and their corresponding frequencies.

Step 2: Go to the "Insert" tab.

Step 3: Click on "Column" in the "Charts" group.

Step 4: Choose "Clustered Column" to create a column chart.

Step 5: You've created a basic histogram. To improve it:Right-click on the x-axis (horizontal axis) and select "Format Axis" to customize bin intervals if needed.Right-click on the y-axis (vertical axis) and choose "Format Axis" to adjust the scaling.

Step 6: Label your chart appropriately, including titles and axis labels.

Step 7: You've created a histogram in Excel.