This deep dive covers Interpreting Box Plots within Box Plots for GCSE Mathematics. Revise Box Plots in Statistics for GCSE Mathematics with 18 exam-style questions and 20 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 6 of 11 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Interpreting Box Plots
What Each Part Tells You
- Box width (IQR): Spread of middle 50% of data
- Median position in box: Symmetry of middle 50%
- Whisker lengths: Spread of extreme values
- Overall width: Total range of data
Skewness from Box Plots
- Symmetric: Median in center of box, equal whisker lengths
- Positive skew: Median left of center, longer right whisker
- Negative skew: Median right of center, longer left whisker
Comparing Distributions
Spread: Compare IQRs for consistency
Range: Compare whisker spans for extremes
Shape: Compare skewness patterns
Practice questions for Box Plots
On a box plot, what does the box (the rectangle) represent?
Two athletics clubs record the 100m sprint times (in seconds) for their members. The five-number summaries are shown below. Club A: Min = 11.2, Q1 = 12.4, Median = 13.1, Q3 = 14.2, Max = 16.5 Club B: Min = 12.0, Q1 = 13.5, Median = 14.8, Q3 = 16.1, Max = 17.3 Compare the distributions of sprint times for the two clubs. You must use the data to support your answer. (3 marks)