A box and whisker plot is a graphical representation of numerical data that displays the median, quartiles, and extreme values of a data set. It is used to summarize the distribution of the data and identify any outliers.
A box and whisker plot is typically used when you want to compare the distribution of data between different groups or to identify any outliers in a data set. It is also useful for displaying the spread and central tendency of a data set.
To create a box and whisker plot, you first need to arrange your data in ascending order. Then, find the median, upper and lower quartiles, and extreme values. Next, draw a box from the lower to upper quartile, with a line at the median. Finally, draw lines (whiskers) from the box to the extreme values.
A box and whisker plot displays the distribution of a data set in a visual format, whereas a histogram shows the frequency or count of data within specific intervals. A box and whisker plot also includes information about the median and extreme values, while a histogram does not.
A box and whisker plot can be interpreted by looking at the central box, which represents the middle 50% of the data, and the whiskers, which represent the remaining 50% of the data. The length of the box and whiskers can give an indication of the spread of the data, and any outliers can be identified as points outside of the whiskers.