IM 6.8.17 Lesson: Using Box Plots

Author:GeoGebra Classroom Activities, IM 6 – 8 Math

Ten sixth-grade students were asked how much sleep, in hours, they usually get on a school night. Here is the five-number summary of their responses.

Minimum: 5 hours
First quartile: 7 hours

Median: 7.5 hours
Third quartile: 8 hours

Maximum: 9 hours

On the grid, drag the red points to draw a box plot for this five-number summary.

What questions could be answered by looking at this box plot?

Your teacher will give you either a Problem Card or a Data Card about sea turtles that nest on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Do not show or read your card to your partner.

If your teacher gives you the problem card:

If your teacher gives you the data card:

Silently read your card and think about what information you need to be able to answer the question.
Ask your partner for the specific information that you need.
Explain how you are using the information to solve the problem. Continue to ask questions until you have enough information to solve the problem.
Share the problem card and solve the problem independently.
Read the data card and discuss your reasoning.

Silently read your card.
Ask your partner “What specific information do you need?” and wait for them to ask for information. If your partner asks for information that is not on the card, do not do the calculations for them. Tell them you don’t have that information.
Before sharing the information, ask “Why do you need that information?” Listen to your partner’s reasoning and ask clarifying questions.
Read the problem card and solve the problem independently.
Share the data card and discuss your reasoning.

Pause here so your teacher can review your work. Ask your teacher for a new set of cards and repeat the activity, trading roles with your partner.

Andre, Lin, and Noah each designed and built a paper airplane. They launched each plane several times and recorded the distance of each flight in yards.

Andre 25 26 27 27 27 28 28 28 29 30 30 Lin 20 20 21 24 26 28 28 29 29 30 32 Noah 13 14 15 18 19 20 21 23 23 24 25 Work with your group to summarize the data sets with numbers and box plots.

Write the five-number summary for the data for each airplane. Then, calculate the interquartile range for each data set.

Draw three box plots, one for each paper airplane.

How are the results for Andre and Lin’s planes the same?

How are they different?

How are the results for Lin and Noah’s planes the same?

How are they different?

Priya joined in the paper-plane experiments. She launched her plane eleven times and recorded the lengths of each flight. She found that her maximum and minimum were equal to Lin’s. Her IQR was equal to Andre’s. Draw a box plot that could represent Priya’s data.

With the information given, can you estimate the median for Priya’s data? Explain your reasoning.