Paper 1 · descriptive statistics / box plots
The times to the nearest minute taken by 12 students to complete a task are: 43, 45, 46, 42, 48, 42, 46, 55, 47, 42, 41, 44. What is the interquartile range (Q3 minus Q1) of these times, in minutes?
A4.5
B3.5
C5.5
D4.0
Explanation: Sorted: 41, 42, 42, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 46, 47, 48, 55. Q1 is the median of the lower 6 values, (42+42)/2 = 42; Q3 is the median of the upper 6 values, (46+47)/2 = 46.5. IQR = 46.5 - 42 = 4.5.
Derived from ZIMSEC Statistics Paper 1, November 2020, Q2
