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Lesson 9 of 14

How far apart are the ends

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Two buses were late on five days. Bus A: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 minutes. Bus B: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 minutes. Both have a mean of 5.

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Late minutes on five days. Bus A is above, bus B below.
Step 1 of 4
  1. Late minutes on five days. Bus A is above, bus B below.
  2. Both means are 5. The dotted line marks it.
  3. Bus A: largest 7, smallest 3. The range is 7 − 3 = 4.
  4. Bus B: largest 9, smallest 1. The range is 9 − 1 = 8.

The range is the largest reading minus the smallest reading.

Bus A has range 7 − 3 = 4. Bus B has range 9 − 1 = 8.

A small range means all the readings are close together. A large range means the smallest and largest are far apart.

Each bus totals 25 minutes, and 25 ÷ 5 = 5. So the two means are the same, but the ranges differ. The mean alone does not show this.

Try the lab to finish this lesson.