Dataford
Interview QuestionsInterview GuidesExperiencesMock InterviewsPricing
Get started

Compute Mean and Standard Deviation

EasyPython00:00
Practice interviewer
In session
5 left
00:00

Your question is Compute Mean and Standard Deviation. Start with the requirements on the right.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.

You need to log in / sign up to run or submit.

Problem

At Acme Analytics, you need a utility function that summarizes a list of numeric values. Write a function that returns the mean and population standard deviation of a list of numbers.

The mean is the sum of all values divided by the number of values. The population standard deviation is defined as sqrt(sum((x - mean)^2) / n).

Function Specification

  • Input: a list nums of integers or floating-point numbers
  • Output: a list of two numbers: [mean, standard_deviation]

If the input list is empty, return [0, 0].

Constraints

  • 0 <= len(nums) <= 10^5
  • -10^6 <= nums[i] <= 10^6
  • Input values may be integers or floating-point numbers
  • Return the population standard deviation using sqrt(sum((x - mean)^2) / n)
  • Answers within a small floating-point tolerance are acceptable

Function Signature

def mean_and_stddev(nums):
Your solutionPython 3
You need to log in / sign up to run or submit.
Run your code to see test output