Understanding Box-and-Whisker Plots

Seventh Grade

Last updated 05 October 2003

Data can be displayed in many different ways. One way is with a box-and-whisker plot. A box-and-whisker plot is a visual representation of the distribution of a data set. It shows the distribution according to percentiles. To say it another way, it allows interpreters to quickly identify the range of values for the first 25% of data, the second 25% of data, the third 25% of data, and the fourth 25% of data. In previous lessons, we learned general information about box-and-whisker plots and how to create them. Now, we will learn how to interpret box plots.

Get the basics

Interpret the plot

Compare box-and-whisker plots

Match data sets with their plots

---

What you will be able to do after completing this tutorial:

• Determine which data sets are appropriate for displaying in box-and-whisker plots
• Draw conclusions about a data set (data sets) upon observing the box-and-whisker plot(s)
• Match box-and-whisker plots with their data sets

J. Paquette
jopaquet@nmu.edu