Question

how much oil wells in a given field will ultimately produce is crucial information in deciding whether to drill more wells. here are the estimated total amounts of oil recovered from all 38 wells in the devonian richmond dolomite area of the michigan basin, in thousands of barrels. the data is provided in ascending order, along with a dotplot. 3, 13, 15, 19, 21, 22, 25, 31, 33, 35, 35, 35, 37, 37, 38, 43, 43, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 50, 53, 56, 57, 59, 63, 65, 66, 70, 70, 74, 80, 82, 92, 98, 157. dotplot image 1. the mean amount of total oil recovered is 50.395 thousand barrels and the standard deviation of the total oil recovered is 28.285 thousand barrels. interpret the standard deviation.

Explanation:

The standard deviation measures the typical amount of variation (or spread) from the mean. For this data on oil recovery (in thousands of barrels), a standard deviation of 28.285 means that, on average, the total oil recovered from each well in the Devonian Richmond Dolomite area of the Michigan basin deviates from the mean amount (50.395 thousand barrels) by approximately 28.285 thousand barrels. In other words, most of the oil recovery amounts from the wells are within about 28.285 thousand barrels above or below the mean of 50.395 thousand barrels.

Answer:

The standard deviation of 28.285 thousand barrels means that, on average, the total oil recovered (in thousands of barrels) from each well in this area deviates from the mean (50.395 thousand barrels) by approximately 28.285 thousand barrels. It represents the typical amount of spread of the oil recovery amounts around the mean.