This formula says: Sum the squares of the deviations, divide by N 1, and take the square root of the

e result.
This formula actually gives only an estimate of the standard deviation unless the number of measurements is
large (>50). We must recognize that when we repeat a measurement only two or three times, we are not
obtaining a very large sample of measurements, and the confidence we can place in the mean value of a
small number of measurements is correspondingly reduced.
Although the formula may look forbiddingly complex, the steps are very simple. First calculate the
arithmetic mean, or average value, X , of the measurements. Then subtract the mean value, X from each
one of the individual values, Xi, to obtain the deviation. Square each deviation, and add all of the squares.
Divide the total by N-1 where N is the total number of measurements. Finally take the square root of the
result to obtain the estimate of the standard deviation.

This is the Gaussian

distribution of data around the
mean ( X ), showing the
probability of finding a value
within 1, 2, or 3 standard
deviations.

# of 0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1.0 1.25 1.5 1.75 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
S.D.
Prob
0 20 38 55 68 79 87 92 95.4 98.8 99.7 99.95 99.99
(%)
This table represents the probability of finding a value within fraction of a standard deviation from the mean.

The standard deviation expressions are absolute, that is, they are expressed in the same units as the
measurements themselves. Relative values for these are sometimes more meaningful since they are based on
the magnitude of the quantity being measured. A small Relative Standard Deviation indicated a higher
degree of precision. For beginning Chemistry students an acceptable value, on most labs, is an RSD of less
than 3.0%.
S
Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) 100
X
Where S = sample standard deviation
X = mean (average)

Try this example calculation:

Four different mixtures were analyzed in the lab to yield the following results:
Sample # 1 2 3 4
% KClO3 16.37 16.29 16.39 16.35
d
d2
Determine the mean (average) value:
Calculate the deviation and the deviation squared for each value:
Calculate the standard deviation (actually the estimate of the standard deviation):
Calculate the Relative Standard Deviation:

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