Question

Why do you think the term quartile is used to describe the numbers that determine one end of each whisker?

A) Because quartiles are based on a division of the data into four equal parts
B) Because quartiles represent the quarter portion of the dataset
C) Because quartiles are always 25% of the data
D) Because the term "quartile" originates from the Latin word "quartus," meaning one-fourth

Answer 1

The term 'quartile' refers to one of four equal parts in a data set, with each quartile containing 25% of the data points, which is why it's used to describe the ends of whiskers on a box plot.

Step-by-step explanation:

The term quartile is used to describe the numbers that determine one end of each whisker in a box plot because a quartile divides the data set into four equal parts. Each quartile contains 25% of the data points when the data is ordered from smallest to largest. The first quartile (Q1) corresponds to the 25th percentile, the median or second quartile (Q2) is the 50th percentile, and the third quartile (Q3) is the 75th percentile. To construct a box plot, the first quartile marks one end of the box, and the third quartile marks the opposite end, with the whiskers extending from these points to the minimum and maximum values of the data set. This representation helps to provide a visual summary of the distribution of the data.