What is Range in Math? – Definition
Range in math is defined as a measurement of the spread of data.
“Spread” relates to how scattered the data looks when plotted on a graph.
Range is a very simplistic measurement of data since it compares only the largest and smallest values.
Determining the Range
The range is the difference between the highest value and the lowest value in a data set.
In order to calculate the range, we simply subtract the lowest value from the highest value.
Range = Highest Value – Lowest Value
To put it another way, the range is calculated by subtracting the minimum value in the data set from the maximum value in the data set.
For example, if the lowest number is a data set is 51 and the highest value is 87, the range is 36 since 87 – 51 = 36.
Types of Exam Questions on Range in Math
You will see different types of questions on range on your entrance exam.
You may see questions that simply provide a set of numbers and then ask you to determine the range.
The numbers in the set will not usually be listed in ascending order like this: 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12
In other words, the numbers in the data set will normally be mixed up like this: 8, 3, 9, 4, 12, 7, 6
For problems on range in math, the values may be provided in a table or chart.
However, the most common types of questions on range in math are practical problems in narrative form.
Other Measurements of Data
Entrance exams also have questions other measurements of data.
These measurements include mean, mode, median, and quartiles.
Mean is the average of the values.
Mode is the value that occurs most frequently.
Median is the value that is in the middle of the data set.
Quartiles are formed when we place the values of the data set into four groups.
We will look at mean, mode, median, and quartiles in separate posts.