A box plot displays a data set through five numbers: minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile, and maximum. The box holds the middle half of the data, which makes spread easy to compare between sets.
Math Dictionary / Box Plot
Box Plot
A box plot displays data using the minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile, and maximum.
StatisticsGrade 6Grade 7Grade 8Algebra 1SATACT
What it means
It is useful for seeing the spread and center of a data set.
Also called: box-and-whisker plot
Examples
| The box goes from Q1 to Q3 |
| The line inside the box is the median |
| Whiskers show the lower and upper spread |
Common mistake
The box plot does not show every data value; it summarizes the distribution.
Try one
Question: What value is shown by the line inside the box?
Show answer
The median.