Question

The heights of 11 plants, in inches, are listed.

14, 15, 15, 16, 16, 16, 17, 17, 18, 19, 20

If another plant with a height of 17 inches is added to the data, how would the range be impacted?

The range would stay the same value of 6 inches.
The range would stay the same value of 16 inches.
The range would increase to 17 inches.
The range would decrease to 6 inches.

Answer 1

To determine how adding another plant with a height of 17 inches impacts the range of the current data set, we first need to calculate the range of the original heights.

The formula for the range is:

\[
\text{Range} = \text{Maximum value} - \text{Minimum value}
\]

For the original set of plant heights given:

- Minimum height = 14 inches
- Maximum height = 20 inches

Calculating the range:

\[
\text{Range} = 20 - 14 = 6 \text{ inches}
\]

Now, if we add another plant with a height of 17 inches, we need to check if this changes the maximum and minimum values.

The new set of heights will be:

14, 15, 15, 16, 16, 16, 17, 17, 17, 18, 19, 20

In this new set:

- The minimum height is still 14 inches.
- The maximum height remains 20 inches.

Now we recalculate the range for the new set:

\[
\text{Range} = 20 - 14 = 6 \text{ inches}
\]

Since adding the plant with a height of 17 inches did not affect the minimum or maximum values, the range remains the same.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

**The range would stay the same value of 6 inches.**