<P> In statistics, the number of degrees of freedom is the number of values in the final calculation of a statistic that are free to vary . </P> <P> The number of independent ways by which a dynamic system can move, without violating any constraint imposed on it, is called number of degrees of freedom . In other words, the number of degrees of freedom can be defined as the minimum number of independent coordinates that can specify the position of the system completely . </P>

What does the term degrees of freedom mean