Questions: The following data set represent the hemoglobin (in g / dL ) for 6 randomly selected cats. Determine the sample variance. Round your answer to one decimal place, if necessary. 5.7, 6.7, 9.0, 12.3, 7.8, 8.6

The sample mean ($\bar{x}$) is calculated using the formula: $$ \bar{x} = \frac{1}{n} \sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i $$ Substituting the given values, we get: $$ \bar{x} = \frac{1}{6} \sum_{i=1}^{6} 5.7, 6.7, 9, 12.3, 7.8, 8.6 $$ $$ \bar{x} = 8.3 g/dL $$

The sum of squared deviations (SSD) is calculated using the formula: $$ \text{SSD} = \sum_{i=1}^{n} (x_i - \bar{x})^2 $$ Substituting the sample mean calculated in Step 1, we get: $$ \text{SSD} = 26.1 $$

The sample variance ($s^2$) is calculated using the formula: $$ s^2 = \frac{\text{SSD}}{n-1} $$ Substituting the SSD calculated in Step 2, we get: $$ s^2 = \frac{26.1}{5} $$ $$ s^2 = 5.2 g/dL^2 $$

The sample standard deviation ($s$) is the square root of the sample variance calculated in Step 3: $$ s = \sqrt{s^2} $$ Substituting the sample variance, we get: $$