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Calculate the range (spread) of a dataset. The range is the difference between the maximum and minimum values.
The range is the simplest measure of spread (variability) in a dataset. It shows the difference between the largest and smallest values, giving you a quick sense of how spread out the data is.
Identify the largest value in your dataset.
Identify the smallest value in your dataset.
Calculate: Maximum - Minimum = Range
Week temperatures (°F): 68, 72, 75, 71, 69, 74, 70
Maximum: 75°F, Minimum: 68°F
Range = 75 - 68 = 7°F
Temperature varied by 7 degrees over the week
Student scores: 92, 78, 85, 95, 88, 82, 91
Maximum: 95, Minimum: 78
Range = 95 - 78 = 17 points
17-point spread shows moderate variability in performance
✓ Simple to calculate
✓ Easy to understand
✗ Sensitive to outliers
✗ Uses only 2 data points
✓ Uses all data points
✓ More robust measure
✗ More complex to calculate
✗ Harder to interpret
When you need a fast, simple measure of spread
Works well when you have few data points
One extreme value can distort the range significantly
No, the range is always positive or zero. It's calculated as Maximum - Minimum, and the maximum is always greater than or equal to the minimum. A range of zero means all values are identical.
Neither - it depends on context. A larger range means more variability. For test scores, small range suggests consistent performance. For investment returns, larger range might indicate volatility.
Range only uses the two extreme values (max and min), while standard deviation considers every single data point and shows how spread out the entire dataset is from the mean.
If you have only one value, the range is 0 because the maximum and minimum are the same number. For example, if your data is just '5', then range = 5 - 5 = 0.
Because range only uses the two extreme values. One outlier can dramatically change the range. For example: 10, 12, 13, 11, 14 has range 4. Add one outlier (100) and range becomes 90.
IQR is the range of the middle 50% of data (Q3 - Q1). It's more robust than regular range because it ignores the extreme 25% on each end, making it less sensitive to outliers.