Final answer:
The range of a data set is the difference between the longest and shortest values. For the student foot length data, the range will be calculated by subtracting the length of the shortest foot from that of the longest foot.
Step-by-step explanation:
The range of a data set in statistics is defined as the difference between the highest (maximum) and lowest (minimum) values in the set. To find the range of the foot lengths of the 40 local high school students, you would subtract the length of the shortest foot (minimum value) from the length of the longest foot (maximum value). The range does not refer to a single value such as the length of the longest or shortest foot only, nor does it refer to the average foot length.
Therefore, the answer to the question about the range of the data set is:
- The range is the difference between the longest and shortest foot lengths (Option c).
The range provides a measure of how spread out the values in a data set are, which is useful for understanding the variability of the data.
The range of a data set is the difference between the maximum and minimum values. In this case, the maximum foot length is 77 cm and the minimum foot length is 59 cm. So, the range of the data set is 77 - 59 = 18 cm.