Which data set has the smallest standard deviation?

Which data set has the smallest standard deviation?

• A. 2,2,3,3
• B. 1,2,3,4
• C. 0,1,2,3
• D. 1,1,1,1

Answer: (D)

Standard deviation measures how spread out the numbers are around the average. If every value is the same, there’s no spread at all, so the standard deviation is zero—the smallest possible value. Among the options, the data set where all entries are identical has this property, so it has the smallest standard deviation. The other sets have values that differ from their average, meaning nonzero deviations and larger standard deviations.

Standard deviation measures how spread out the numbers are around the average. If every value is the same, there’s no spread at all, so the standard deviation is zero—the smallest possible value. Among the options, the data set where all entries are identical has this property, so it has the smallest standard deviation. The other sets have values that differ from their average, meaning nonzero deviations and larger standard deviations.