New
New
Year 8

Evaluating the range

I can evaluate the range as a measure of spread, including a consideration of outliers.

New
New
Year 8

Evaluating the range

I can evaluate the range as a measure of spread, including a consideration of outliers.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The range can be affected by outliers in the data.
  2. Removing these outliers will change the value of the range.
  3. Outliers must be carefully considered and only removed if they were recorded in error.

Keywords

  • Outlier - A data point that is extremely large or small compared to the rest of the dataset.

  • Range - A measure of spread. It is found by finding the difference between the highest and lowest values.

  • Spread/dispersion - Describes how far apart pieces of data in a dataset are.

Common misconception

"Adding or removing a data point from a dataset will always change the value of the range"

The range only changes if: the data point added becomes a new max or min value, or the data point removed is the current max or min value.

If an outlier is part of a dataset due to an error in data collection and recording, then it can be removed and the range recalculated. However, correctly recorded outliers are still valuable data points to a dataset, and should be kept.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these sentences describe the range?
Correct answer: A measure of spread
A measure of central tendency
Correct answer: A measure of variance or varity
Correct answer: It is found by finding the difference between the highest and lowest values
It is found by putting a data set into size order and finding the middle value
Q2.
Match the key parts of a calculation for the range with the correct values for this data set: 6, 3, 10, 4, 9, 1, 4
Correct Answer:The largest value is,10

10

Correct Answer:The smallest value is,1

1

Correct Answer:Calculation to find range,10 − 1

10 − 1

Correct Answer:The range is,9

9

Correct Answer:Number not used to find range,4

4

Q3.
Select the correct calculation to find the range of this data set: 19, 12, 16, 19, 9, 11
$${{19 + 16}\over{2}} = 17.5$$
$${{12 + 16}\over{2}} = 14$$
$${{19 + 12 + 16 + 19 + 9 + 11}\over{6}} = 14.\dot3$$
Correct answer: $${19 - 9} = 10$$
$${19 - 11} = 8$$
Q4.
Match each data set to its range.
Correct Answer:1, 3, 7, 8, 10,9

9

Correct Answer:3, 1, 10, 10, 12,11

11

Correct Answer:3, 9, 11, 15, 14,12

12

Correct Answer:4, 9, 8, 7, 7, 14, 12, 13,10

10

Q5.
A data set is presented on a dot plot. The range of the data is .
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 7, seven
Q6.
Which of these dot plots have a range of 6?
a
Correct answer: b
Correct answer: c
d

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these sentences best describe what an outlier is.
An outlier is always the largest value in a data set.
Correct answer: An outlier is extremely large or small compared to the rest of the data set.
An outlier is an extremely large or small value after a range is calculated.
Outliers lie close to all the other data points in a data set.
Correct answer: Outliers lie far away from where the majority of the data points are clustered.
Q2.
What is the value of the outlier on this dot plot?
An image in a quiz
23
35
62
62.5
Correct answer: 63
Q3.
How many outliers are there on this dot plot?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 4, four
Q4.
Match each piece of information to its value.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer:The outlier,23

23

Correct Answer:The range with the outlier,24

24

Correct Answer:The range without the outlier,11

11

Correct Answer:The largest data point,47

47

Q5.
For this ordered data set, calculate the range whilst including all outliers, and also calculate the range without the outliers. The difference between the two ranges is
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 83
Q6.
Different outliers may need to be: kept, removed, investigated further, depending on the context with which these outliers have occurred. Match what should happen to the outlier to its context.
Correct Answer:Definitely keep,An outlier of 28 for number of days in a month without rain.

An outlier of 28 for number of days in a month without rain.

Correct Answer:Definitely remove,A student walked 200 km to the supermarket.

A student walked 200 km to the supermarket.

Correct Answer:Investigate further,19 cats had a mass of 4 - 6 kg. Outlier had a mass of 11 kg.

19 cats had a mass of 4 - 6 kg. Outlier had a mass of 11 kg.