A company determines the mean and standard deviation of the number of sick days taken by its employees in one year. Which of the following is the best description of the standard deviation?
(A) Approximately the mean distance between the number of sick days taken by individual employees and the mean number of sick days taken by all employees
(B) Approximately the median distance between the number of sick days taken by individual employees and the median number of sick days taken by all employees
(C) The distance between the greatest number of sick days taken by an employee and the mean number of sick days taken by all employees
(D) The number of days separating the fewest sick days taken and the most sick days taken when considering all employees
(E) The number of days separating the fewest sick days taken and the most sick days taken when considering median number of sick days taken by all employees and the most sick days taken when considering the middle 50 percent of the distribution
Answer:
(A) Approximately the mean distance between the number of sick days taken by individual employees and the mean number of sick days taken by all employees