Question

Mrs. James, a sixth grade teacher, recorded how many minutes each student reported reading over winter break.
Time spent reading (min.)
0
100
200
300
400
500
What was the upper quartile of the time spent reading?
minutes

Answer 1

To find the upper quartile (Q3) of the given data, we first need to organize the times spent reading in ascending order (though in this case they are already ordered):

- 0
- 100
- 200
- 300
- 400
- 500

**Step 1: Determine the median (Q2).**
There are 6 data points. The median, or second quartile (Q2), is the average of the 3rd and 4th values.

- 3rd value: 200
- 4th value: 300

\[
Q2 = \frac{200 + 300}{2} = 250
\]

**Step 2: Determine the upper quartile (Q3).**
The upper quartile (Q3) is the median of the upper half of the data. The upper half includes the values above the median:

- 300
- 400
- 500

There are 3 data points in the upper half. The median of this subset is the second value (the middle value):

- Median of upper half: 400

Thus, the upper quartile (Q3) is:

\[
Q3 = 400
\]

**Answer:** The upper quartile of the time spent reading is **400 minutes**.