Key Idea: Box Plot

A box plot (or box-and-whisker plot) is a visual summary of a data set’s distribution.
It shows the median, quartiles, and extremes of the data.

General Rule:

• The box spans the interquartile range (Q1 to Q3).

• The line inside the box shows the median.

• The whiskers extend to the minimum and maximum values (or to a defined range).

Why this matters for the SAT:

Box plots allow quick comparison of data distributions. Knowing how to read medians, quartiles, and spread helps interpret trends, variability, and outliers efficiently.