Box and Whisker Diagrams

54

5 VALUES in 5 VALUES in
the lower half the upper half
 4 VALUES in 4 VALUES in
the lower half the upper half
Find the median, lower and upper
quartiles for the following data sets:

 A) 2;5;5;6;6;6;8;9;10;10;11

 B) 5;5;6;6;6;8;9;10;10;11
Find the median, lower and upper
quartiles for the following data sets:

 A) 2;5;5;6;6;6;8;9;10;10;11

 B) 5;5;6;6;6;8;9;10;10;11
Just like how we learnt to find the position of
the MEDIAN (Q2) by using the calculation:
 Position = ½ (𝑛 + 1)

We can do the same for the lower and upper

quartiles
LOWER QUARTILE: (Q1)
 Position = ¼ (𝑛 + 1)

UPPER QUARTILE: (Q3)

 Position = ¾ (𝑛 + 1)
ODD DATA SET: 11 values

Find the median:

1 1 1
 Position: n+1 = 11 + 1 = 12 = 𝟔𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
2 2 2

 The median is 6
 To divide the data into quarters I must half the
two halves.
(There are 5 values in the lower/upper half)
𝟏 𝟏
 Position: 𝟓+𝟏 = 𝟔 = 𝟑𝒓𝒅
𝟐 𝟐

 Quartile 1: 3rd value from the start  5

 Quartile 3: 3rd value from the end  10
Quartile 1:
1 1 1
 Position: 𝑛+1 = 11 + 1 = 12 = 3𝑟𝑑
4 4 4
 𝑄1 = 5

Quartile 3:
3 3 3
 Position: 𝑛+1 = 11 + 1 = 12 = 9𝑡ℎ
4 4 4
 𝑄3 = 10
EVEN DATA SET: 10 values
Find the median:
1 1 1
 Position: n+1 = 10 + 1 = 11 = 5.5𝑡ℎ →
2 2 2
𝟓𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝟔𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
6+8
 The median is =7
2
 To divide the data into quarters I must half the
two halves.
(There are 5 values in the lower/upper half)
𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
 Position: 𝒏+𝟏 = 𝟓 + 𝟏 = (𝟔) = 𝟑𝒓𝒅
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐

 Quartile 1: 3rd value from the start  6

 Quartile 3: 3rd value from the end  10
Quartile 1:
1 1 1
 Position: 𝑛+1 = 10 + 1 = 11 = 2,75 ≈ 3𝑟𝑑
4 4 4
 𝑄1 = 6

Quartile 3:
3 3 3
 Position: 𝑛+1 = 10 + 1 = 11 = 8,25 ≈ 8𝑡ℎ
4 4 4
 𝑄3 = 10
Sketch the Box and Whisker Plot for Set C

9;55;56;57;82;85;110
Find the median, upper and lower quartiles for
the following data set (by means of a calculation)

9;55;56;57;82;85;110

ODD DATA SET: 7 values

1 1 1
 Q1  4
𝑛+1 = 4
7+1 = 4
8 = 2𝑛𝑑  Q1 =55
3 3 3
 Q3  𝑛+1 = 7+1 = 8 = 6𝑡ℎ  Q3 =85
4 4 4
1 1 1
 Q2  𝑛+1 = 7+1 = 8 = 4𝑡ℎ Q1 =57
2 2 2
 9;55;56;57;82;85;110

5 number summary:
 Min  9
 Q1  55
 Q2 57
 Q3  85
 Max 110
The Interquartile range is the difference between the upper
quartile and the lower quartile

𝑰𝑸𝑹 = 𝑸𝟑 – 𝑸𝟏

50% of the data values that lie between the

upper and lower quartiles
Determine the IQR of Set C

9;55;56;57;82;85;110

𝑰𝑸𝑹 = 𝑸𝟑 – 𝑸𝟏
= 𝟖𝟓 – 𝟓𝟓
= 𝟑𝟎

 The IQR represents 50% of values in the data

set
 Outliers are values that are unusual to a data set.

They are excluded during the calculation of the MEAN as

they affect the accuracy of our answers, however they do
not have much impact on the median or mode

To determine which values will be considered as outlier,

we set up a boundary of what is considered normal:
 Lower Boundary: 𝑸𝟏 − 𝟏. 𝟓 (𝑰𝑸𝑹)
 Upper Boundary: 𝑸𝟑 + 𝟏. 𝟓 (𝑰𝑸𝑹)

Any values that lie outside of the boundaries will be

considered an outlier
Determine if there are any outliers in Set C

9;55;56;57;82;85;110

 Lower Boundary: 𝑸𝟏 − 𝟏. 𝟓 (𝑰𝑸𝑹)

 𝑳𝑩 = 𝟓𝟓 − 𝟏, 𝟓 𝑿 𝟑𝟎 = 𝟏𝟎
 Upper Boundary: 𝑸𝟑 + 𝟏. 𝟓 (𝑰𝑸𝑹)
 𝑼𝑩 = 𝟖𝟓 + 𝟏, 𝟓 𝑿 𝟑𝟎 = 𝟏𝟑𝟎

Hence by boundary lies between: [10; 130]

Yes, 9 is an outlier to this data set

During 2010 and 2011, these scores were recorded
by the top batsmen during the domestic cricket
season:

 155; 159; 144; 29; 105; 145; 126; 116; 130; 114;
122; 112; 112; 142; 126; 118; 118; 108; 122; 121;
109; 140; 126; 119; 113; 117;118; 109; 109; 119;
139; 139; 122; 78; 133; 126; 123; 145; 121; 134;
124; 119; 132; 133; 124; 129; 112; 126; 145; 147

Which score is an outlier?

29 is an outlier
During 2010 and 2011, these scores were
recorded by the top batsmen during the
domestic cricket season:

Arrange in Ascending Order:

 29; 78; 105; 108; 109; 109; 109; 112;
112;112; 113; 114; 116; 117; 118; 118; 118;
119; 119; 119; 121; 121;122; 122; 122; 123;
124; 124; 126; 126; 126; 126;126; 129; 130;
132; 133; 133; 134; 139; 139; 140;142; 144;
145; 145; 145; 147; 155; 159
29; 78; 105; 108; 109; 109; 109; 112; 112;112; 113; 114; 116;
117; 118; 118; 118; 119; 119; 119; 121; 121;122; 122; 122; 123;
124; 124; 126; 126; 126; 126;126; 129; 130; 132; 133; 133; 134;
139; 139; 140;142; 144; 145; 145; 145; 147; 155; 159

Calculations:
1
 The median : 𝑃 = 50 + 1 = 25,5 → 25𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 26𝑡ℎ ;
2
122+123
 𝑄2 = = 122,5
2
1
 The lower quartile : 𝑃 = 50 + 1 = 12,75 → 13𝑡ℎ ;
4
 𝑄1 = 116
3
 The upper quartile : 𝑃 = 50 + 1 = 38,25 → 38𝑡ℎ ;
4
 𝑄3 = 133
NB: To find the
position of the
 𝐼𝑄𝑅 = 𝑄3 − 𝑄1 = 133 − 116 = 17
Quartiles you round
accordingly
29; 78; 105; 108; 109; 109; 109; 112; 112;112; 113; 114; 116;
117; 118; 118; 118; 119; 119; 119; 121; 121;122; 122; 122; 123;
124; 124; 126; 126; 126; 126;126; 129; 130; 132; 133; 133; 134;
139; 139; 140;142; 144; 145; 145; 145; 147; 155; 159

Calculations:
 𝑄1 = 116
 𝑄3 = 133
 𝐼𝑄𝑅 = 𝑄3 − 𝑄1 = 133 − 116 = 17

 Lower Boundary: 𝑄1 − 1,5 𝐼𝑄𝑅 = 116 − 1,5 17 = 90,5

 Upper Boundary: 𝑄3 + 1,5 𝐼𝑄𝑅 = 133 + 1,5 17 = 158,5

 Hence our outliers are: 29; 78; 159

 Data that is symmetrically skewed means that it is
an example of a normal distribution
 Data that is positively skewed or skewed to the
right means that there is a greater spread between
Q2 and Q3 (i.e. to the right of the median)
 Data that is negatively skewed or skewed to the left
means that there is a greater spread between Q1
and Q2 (i.e. to the left of the median)
 Comment on the skewness of the Box and
Whisker for Set C

9;55;56;57;82;85;110

 Skewed to the right OR Positively Skewed

1. Sketch the Box and Whisker plots for
SETS A and B
2. Calculate the IQR for both sets
3. Comment on the Skewness of the Box
and Whisker plots for both sets

 A) 2;5;5;6;6;6;8;9;10;10;11

 B) 5;5;6;6;6;8;9;10;10;11
 SET A:
Box and Whisker Diagram

Q1 Q2 Q3
min max

 𝐼𝑄𝑅 = 𝑄3 − 𝑄1
= 10 − 5 = 5
 The lower quarter of the data is less than and equal to
5
 The upper quarter of the data is more than and equal
to10
 The middle half of the data lie between 5 and 10
 The 3rd quarter of the data has the greatest spread.
 SET B:
Box and Whisker Diagram
Q1 Q2 Q3
min max

𝐼𝑄𝑅 = 𝑄3 − 𝑄1
10 − 6 = 4
 25% of the data is less and equal to 6
 75% of the data is less than and equal to10
 50% of the data lie between 6 and 10
 50% of the data is equal to and lies above or below 7
 SET A:

They are
both
Positively
 SET B: Skewed or
Skewed to
the Right