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StatisticsKey Facts

Key Facts About Box Plots

Part of Box Plots — GCSE Mathematics

This key facts covers Key Facts About 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 2 of 10 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

Topic position

Section 2 of 10

Practice

18 questions

Recall

20 flashcards

Key Facts About Box Plots

  • Five-number summary: Minimum, Q1, Median, Q3, Maximum
  • Box: Shows the interquartile range (middle 50% of data)
  • Whiskers: Extend to the minimum and maximum values
  • Median line: Vertical line inside the box showing the middle value
  • Outliers: Points plotted separately if they're unusually extreme
  • Compact display: Shows distribution in a small space
  • Easy comparison: Multiple box plots can be easily compared side by side

Keep building this topic

Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Box Plots. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

The Five-Number SummaryAnatomy of a Box PlotCreating Box PlotsDrawing the Box Plot

Practice Questions for Box Plots

On a box plot, what does the box (the rectangle) represent?

  • A. The interquartile range — the spread of the middle 50% of the data
  • B. The full range of the data from minimum to maximum
  • C. The top 25% of the data only
  • D. The median value of the data
1 markfoundation

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)

3 marksstandard

Quick Recall Flashcards

What is the five-number summary?
The five-number summary consists of: 1. Minimum (smallest value) 2. Q1 (lower quartile) 3. Median (middle value) 4. Q3 (upper quartile) 5. Maximum (largest value)
What is a box plot?
A box plot (or box-and-whisker diagram) is a visual display of the five-number summary of a dataset: minimum, Q1, median, Q3, and maximum. It shows the distribution and spread of data in a compact form.

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The Five-Number Summary

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Anatomy of a Box Plot