Yet there is considerable opposition to the use of genetically modified plants for food production and other uses. Genetic engineering offers a time-saving method for producing larger, higher-quality crops with less effort and expense. You are a tomato farmer whose crops are threatened by a persistent species of beetle. 2  Each year, you spend large sums of money for pesticides to protect your crops.
To calculate the variance follow these steps: 1  Work out the Mean (the simple average of the numbers). 2  Then for each number: subtract the Mean and square the result (the squared difference). 3  Then work out the average of those squared differences.
Hit enter, and OK to calculate the standard deviation. 4. With the cursor still on the same cell, now click in the formula bar at the top of the spreadsheet (the white box next to the = sign) to put the cursor in that bar so you can edit the formula. 5. Put a (in front of STDEV and a) at the end of the formula. Add a / sign to indicated you are dividing this standard deviation. Put 2 sets of parentheses (()) after the division symbol. Put the cursor in the middle of the inner set of parentheses.