Why is the standard deviation usually preferred over the range?

The standard deviation is preferred over the range because it provides a more comprehensive measure of variability by considering all data points rather than just the extremes. While the range only reflects the difference between the maximum and minimum values, the standard deviation accounts for how individual data points deviate from the mean, offering a better representation of data dispersion. This makes the standard deviation more robust, especially in datasets with outliers or non-uniform distributions.