Question

The standard deviation of a sample taken from population A is 17.6 for a sample of 25. The standard deviation of a sample taken from population B is 21.2 for a sample of 30. The standard deviation of the sample mean difference is?

Answer 1

The answer is 5.5

The standard deviation (sd or σ) of the sample mean difference is:
sd = √(sd₁²/n₁ + sd₂²/n₂)

For the population A:
sd₁ = 17.6
n₁ = 25

For the population B:
sd₂ = 21.2
n₂ = 30

Hence:
sd = √(sd₁²/n₁ + sd₂²/n₂)
    = √(17.6²/20 + 21.2²/30)
    = √(309.76/20 + 449.44/30)
    = √(15.49 + 14.98)
    = √(30.47)
    = 5.5