To find the variance of a set of numbers, you need to follow these steps:
1. Find the mean (average) of the set.
2. Subtract the mean from each number in the set.
3. Square each of the differences.
4. Find the mean (average) of the squared differences.
Let's apply these steps to the set of numbers given: 2, 6, 8, 6, 2, and 6.
1. The mean of the set is (2+6+8+6+2+6)/6 = 5.
2. Subtracting the mean from each number gives us the following differences: -3, 1, 3, 1, -3, 1.
3. Squaring each difference gives us: 9, 1, 9, 1, 9, 1.
4. Finding the mean of these squared differences gives us (9+1+9+1+9+1)/6 = 5.
Therefore, the variance of the set is 5.
In summary, variance is a measure of how spread out a set of numbers is. A high variance means that the numbers in the set are far from the mean, while a low variance means that the numbers are closer to the mean.