In a boxplot, the box represents which concept?

In a boxplot, the box represents which concept?

• A. Mean
• B. Standard deviation
• C. Interquartile range
• D. Full range

Answer: (C)

The box in a boxplot represents the spread of the central portion of the data—the interquartile range. It stretches from the first quartile (Q1) to the third quartile (Q3), capturing the middle 50% of observations. The line inside the box marks the median, dividing the box into two halves. The whiskers extend to describe the rest of the distribution, and any extreme values beyond them may be plotted as outliers. This is different from the mean or standard deviation, which are not shown by the box, and from the full range, which covers the absolute minimum to maximum. The IQR emphasizes variability in the central portion and is more robust to outliers than the full range or standard deviation.

The box in a boxplot represents the spread of the central portion of the data—the interquartile range. It stretches from the first quartile (Q1) to the third quartile (Q3), capturing the middle 50% of observations. The line inside the box marks the median, dividing the box into two halves. The whiskers extend to describe the rest of the distribution, and any extreme values beyond them may be plotted as outliers. This is different from the mean or standard deviation, which are not shown by the box, and from the full range, which covers the absolute minimum to maximum. The IQR emphasizes variability in the central portion and is more robust to outliers than the full range or standard deviation.