Question

The box plots show the number of people that have attended two different school events in the past 20 years.

School Events Attendance

Fall Festival

Spring Fling


Number of People


Which statement is best supported by the information in the box plots?
Responses

A The data for the Fall Festival are more symmetrical than the data for the Spring Fling.The data for the Fall Festival are more symmetrical than the data for the Spring Fling.

B The range of the data for the Fall Festival is greater than the range of the data for the Spring Fling.The range of the data for the Fall Festival is greater than the range of the data for the Spring Fling.

C The interquartile range of the data for the Fall Festival is less than the interquartile range of the data for the Spring Fling.The interquartile range of the data for the Fall Festival is less than the interquartile range of the data for the Spring Fling.

D The median of the data for the Fall Festival is greater than the median of the data for the Spring Fling.

Answer 1

I can’t see the box plots you’re referring to. Could you either upload the image or describe the important features (positions of the medians, the box widths, and the whisker lengths for each event)?

If you want to decide from a box plot yourself, use these checks:

- A (more symmetrical): the Fall Festival’s median should be near the center of its box and its whiskers should be about equal length.
- B (greater range): the Fall Festival’s whisker-to-whisker length (min to max) must be longer than the Spring Fling’s.
- C (IQR less): the Fall Festival’s box (Q1–Q3) must be shorter than the Spring Fling’s box.
- D (median greater): the Fall Festival’s median (line inside the box) must lie at a larger number than the Spring Fling’s median.

Tell me the relative positions/lengths (or send the picture) and I’ll pick the best-supported statement.