Q.Distinguish between absolute measures and relative measures of dispersion, with one example of each.

Absolute measures carry the unit of the original data, while relative measures are unit-free ratios built from an absolute measure.

Absolute measures of dispersion are expressed in the same unit as the data itself. Range, Quartile Deviation, Mean Deviation, and Standard Deviation are all absolute measures — for instance, if wages are measured in rupees, the Standard Deviation of those wages is also expressed in rupees. Absolute measures are appropriate for comparing two series that are in the same unit and have similar average values.

Relative measures of dispersion (coefficients) are unit-free numbers obtained by dividing an absolute measure by an appropriate average — for example, the Coefficient of Variation, $\text{C.V.}=\dfrac{\sigma}{\overline{x}}\times 100$, expresses Standard Deviation as a percentage of the mean. Because relative measures carry no unit, they are used to compare the variability of series expressed in different units (e.g., variability of height in cm versus weight in kg) or series with very different averages (e.g., wages averaging Rs. 500/day versus Rs. 5,000/day). …

Treating 'relative' as meaning 'compared to another series' rather than 'expressed as a ratio/percentage to an average of the same series'; givi …