Maths what is range

In the examples below, our first step is to order the data from least to greatest. We recommend that you do this, too. This is especially important with large sets of data. Let's take a closer look. Example 1 : The Jaeger family drove through 6 midwestern states on their summer vacation. Gasoline prices varied from state to state. What is the range of gasoline prices? Example 2 : Ms.

Kaiser listed 9 integers on the blackboard. What is the range of these integers? The fifth and sixth numbers are the last 10 and the first 11 , so:. The mode is the number repeated most often. This list has two values that are repeated three times; namely, 10 and 11 , each repeated three times. As you can see, it is possible for two of the averages the mean and the median, in this case to have the same value.

But this is not usual, and you should not expect it. Note: Depending on your text or your instructor, the above data set may be viewed as having no mode rather than having two modes, because no single solitary number was repeated more often than any other. I've seen books that go either way on this; there doesn't seem to be a consensus on the "right" definition of "mode" in the above case.

So if you're not certain how you should answer the "mode" part of the above example, ask your instructor before the next test. About the only hard part of finding the mean, median, and mode is keeping straight which "average" is which. Just remember the following:. In the above, I've used the term "average" rather casually. The technical definition of what we commonly refer to as the "average" is technically called "the arithmetic mean": adding up the values and then dividing by the number of values.

Since you're probably more familiar with the concept of "average" than with "measure of central tendency", I used the more comfortable term. The minimum grade is what I need to find. To find the average of all his grades the known ones, plus the unknown one , I have to add up all the grades, and then divide by the number of grades. Since I don't have a score for the last test yet, I'll use a variable to stand for this unknown value: " x ". Then computation to find the desired average is:.

He needs to get at least a 79 on the last test. You can use the Mathway widget below to practice finding the median. India has a population of 1,,, The United States has a population of ,, The range is typically used to find the dispersion of values in a data set comprising several values.

To find the range, you take the greatest value, 10 , minus the lowest value, 4. The range is 6. Now, what if you have only the two numbers 10 and 4 in your set:. The range is still 6. Here are the shoe sizes of some of the NBA's notable players:. A Shetland pony weighs around pounds.

A Clydesdale horse weighs about 2, pounds. What is the weight range of these three horse breeds? What is the range of Marco's mathematics quiz grades? Statistically speaking, most people skip to the answers without doing the math first. Don't be a statistic! Work the problems out first! Range is used in real life to make mathematical calculations.

Range can be used to calculate the amount of time that has passed, like when calculating your age.