Statistics

Lesson 12

Math

Unit 8

6th Grade

Lesson 12 of 14

Objective


Represent data using box plots.

Common Core Standards


Core Standards

  • 6.SP.B.4 — Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.
  • 6.SP.B.5 — Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by:

Criteria for Success


  1. Understand box plots as a way to visually represent the quartiles of a data set, in which each 25% of the data set is represented by a segment of the box plot. 
  2. Understand that the length of each segment of a box plot can provide information about the spread of the data in the set (MP.7).
  3. Use a five-number summary of a data set to create a box plot.
  4. Compare box plots to dot plots of the same data set.

Tips for Teachers


A common misconception with box plots is that the lengths of the segments of the box plot represent the proportional number of data points in the data set (i.e., if one whisker is longer than another, then the longer whisker contains more data points than the shorter one). Using the number strip activity from Lesson 9 can be a concrete and tangible way to address this misconception. By folding the number strip into equal fourths and comparing it to unequal lengths of the box plot, you can show how the data is equally divided into quartiles (and not the number line divided into quartiles).

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Anchor Problems

25-30 minutes


Problem 1

A dot plot is shown below. Use it to answer the questions that follow. 

a.   What statistical question could this data be answering? 

b.   How many people were surveyed?

c.   Find the five-number summary of the data set, and draw a vertical line through each of those values on the dot plot.

d.   Draw a box plot for the data on the number line below. How is it similar to the dot plot? How is it different? 

Guiding Questions

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Student Response

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Problem 2

Twenty high school seniors were asked how many hours they work in a typical week during the summer. The data is shown below. 

17       8      22      22      25      26      6      10      22      22      25      28      20      5      20      13      20      25      22    23 

a.   Create a box plot to represent the data. 

b.   What percent of seniors work more than 24 hours a week?

c.   What percent of seniors work less than 15 hours a week?

d.   Between what two numbers of hours does the middle half of the seniors work in a week?

Guiding Questions

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Student Response

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Problem Set

15-20 minutes


Give your students more opportunities to practice the skills in this lesson with a downloadable problem set aligned to the daily objective.

Target Task

5-10 minutes


Problem 1

Here are two box plots that summarize two data sets. Which of the following statements do you agree with? Select all that apply.

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Student Response

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References

Open Up Resources Grade 6 Unit 8 Lesson 1616.4: Boxes and Dots

Grade 6 Unit 8 Lesson 16 is made available by Open Up Resources under the CC BY 4.0 license. Copyright © 2017 Open Up Resources. Download for free at openupresources.org. Accessed April 3, 2018, 10:57 a.m..

Modified by Fishtank Learning, Inc.

Problem 2

The dot plots below show the same data sets as those represented by the box plots in Problem 1. Decide which box plot goes with each dot plot. Explain your reasoning.

Student Response

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References

Open Up Resources Grade 6 Unit 8 Lesson 16

Grade 6 Unit 8 Lesson 16 is made available by Open Up Resources under the CC BY 4.0 license. Copyright © 2017 Open Up Resources. Download for free at openupresources.org. Accessed April 3, 2018, 10:57 a.m..

Modified by Fishtank Learning, Inc.

Additional Practice


The following resources include problems and activities aligned to the objective of the lesson that can be used for additional practice or to create your own problem set.

  • Revisit the paper strips used in Lessons 6 and 9. Create a box plot for the data and ask questions to compare the box plot to the paper strip to reinforce the concept that 25% of the data falls in each quartile, regardless of how long or short each box or whisker is.

Next

Analyze box plots and other representations, and summarize numerical data in context.

Lesson 13
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Lesson Map

A7CB09C2-D12F-4F55-80DB-37298FF0A765

Topic A: Understanding Statistics & Distributions

Topic B: Measurements of Center & Variability

Topic C: Box Plots & Circle Graphs

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