Describing Data: Measures of Center and Spread

This lesson covers how to describe data using measures of center and spread, including mean, median, range, interquartile range (IQR), and mean absolute deviation (MAD). It explains how these measures are used in data analysis, particularly in line plots, histograms, and box plots. The lesson also includes a practical example using aluminum recycling data to demonstrate the application of these statistical measures.

Which of the following is NOT a measure of spread?

• Median

• Range

• Interquartile range

• Mean absolute deviation

What is a common misunderstanding about the mean?

• It is not used in histograms

• It is always the best statistic to describe data

• It is not a measure of center

• It is always higher than the median

In a box plot, which measure is typically NOT shown?

• Interquartile range

• Range

• Mean

• Median

How is the mean absolute deviation (MAD) calculated?

• By subtracting Q1 from Q3

• By subtracting the lowest value from the highest value

• By averaging the absolute differences from the mean

• By finding the middle value of the data

What does the interquartile range (IQR) represent?

• The average of all data points

• The middle 50% of the data

• The difference between the highest and lowest values

• The average distance from the mean