School Improvement in Maryland
Sample Item Scoring Information Return

Standard 4.0 Knowledge of Statistics

Topic B. Data Analysis

Indicator 1. Analyze data

Objective b. Interpret box-and-whisker plots

Selected Response (SR) Item

Look at the box-and-whisker plots below.

Populations of Countries in South America and Africa
(in millions of people)

plot comparing population of africa with that of south america

(source: www.aneki.com)

What is the approximate difference between the lower and upper quartiles for South America?

  1. 170
  2. 100
  3. 35
  4. 30

Correct Answer
D. 30

Answer Annotation

  1. 170   (175 – 5, this is the range)
     
  2. 100   (125 – 25, this is the range for A)
     
  3. 35   (65 – 30, this is the inter-quartile range for Africa)
     
  4. 30   (correct answer)
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